Post-production on The Mandalorian season 2 is continuing despite the current film and television shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to Baby Yoda (sorry, The Child), the first live-action Star Wars series was a big hit when it premiered on Disney+ last November. The show promises to be even bigger when it returns for season 2, between the continuation of its story and all-but-confirmed introduction of the live-action Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). Disney's so confident, in fact, it's already started development on season 3, with Jon Favreau once again writing the scripts.
Luckily, The Mandalorian season 2 was able to finish shooting before the COVID-19 outbreak took a turn for the worse in March, forcing movies and TV series the world over to cease production over safety concerns. Disney had originally announced the show would return in October, but this unprecedented situation has put that window in doubt. Still, while it might take longer than anticipated to get here, it appears season 2 is making steady progress at the moment.
As part of a feature about how shows are dealing with the pandemic, Variety confirmed post-production on The Mandalorian season 2 is still underway. Director Rick Famuyiwa, who worked on season 1 and is back for the latest batch of episodes, described the process as "more all-consuming than usual," but later added "it’s good to have that to take my mind away from the daily madness that we’re living at the moment.” In a separate comment, animation supervisor Hal Hickel broke down the intricate nature of the show's editing and visual effects:
A big tentpole summer film, like say ‘Avengers,’ might be around 2,000 visual effects shots, and these series are a little shy of 4,000 visual effects shots for season 1, and season 2 is no different. We’re doing them in around the same amount of time, maybe even less time, than a big summer film, plus we all have to work remotely. We’re in the middle of that tsunami now, but we’re going to get it all done, people are going to get their Baby Yoda, I promise.
In addition to scheduling The Mandalorian season 2 for October, Disney originally announced its first MCU Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, would begin streaming in August, followed by WandaVision in December. However, the latter two shows were unable to finish production before everything shutdown, putting their release dates into serious doubt. It seems highly unlikely The Mandalorian season 2 will be ready in time to move forward and fill The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's old spot, either. If anything, it sounds like it will take longer to finalize its visuals and editing than it would've under normal circumstances. As such, the odds seem more in favor of The Mandalorian's new episodes being pushed back to give its VFX artists the time they need, potentially to November or even WandaVision's previous slot in December.
No matter when it arrives, The Mandalorian season 2 gives fans something to look forward while they're stuck at home in the midst of the ongoing health crisis. The show's cast and crew have similarly done a good job of providing updates to tide everyone over in the meantime, be it this latest report on post-production or Moff Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito teasing the number of Darksabers he broke during filming. Fans can also scratch their Star Wars itch by checking out The Mandalorian documentary series on Disney+ when it premieres on May 4 (aka. Star Wars Day). It's like Hickel said: people will - eventually - get their Baby Yoda back, so now all they have to do is be patient.
The Mandalorian season 2 is tentatively set to begin streaming on Disney+ in October. We will let you know if that changes.
Source: Variety