Theory: Mandalorian’s First Lightsaber Duel Is Ahsoka vs. Moff Gideon
Ahsoka Tano could go head-to-head with Moff Gideon in live-action when The Mandalorian returns for its second season. Premiering in late 2019 just before the New Year came along and ruined everything, The Mandalorian was a beacon of hope, the likes of which Star Wars fans had never seen before. The Disney+ series takes the franchise almost back to basics - the Jedi are a myth, the Empire are few in number, and the story revolves around a single (mostly) anonymous bounty hunter. There were no lightsaber duels, no frenzied space battles and no Sith Lords - all tropes Star Wars fans have come to expect.
The Mandalorian might be a very different take on the galaxy far, far away, but there are still a host of connections to the wider world of Star Wars, from retro sound effects to returning alien species. Unquestionably one of the biggest connections in season 1 was the Darksaber. Featuring primarily in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, the Darksaber is an ancient Mandalorian relic built by Mandalore's first Jedi. Possession of the weapon denotes a position of leadership among the Mandalorian people, and the Darksaber has previously been held by the likes of Darth Maul and Sabine Wren. It was last seen with Bo-Katan Kryze, before turning up in The Mandalorian in the grubby hands of Moff Gideon.
As confirmed by Gideon himself (better known as Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito), The Mandalorian season 2 will feature an epic lightsaber battle. Since this information is coming from Esposito, it's safe to assume that Gideon himself is involved in said duel, and the fact that his character is the only person to hold a lightsaber in the show so far supports this. Gideon's opponent, however, is trickier to figure out. It's very difficult to image Mando himself wielding a regular lightsaber against Gideon's Darksaber, and the same goes for Bo-Katan Kryze, who is confirmed to appear in season 2. Not many other Jedi are knocking around at this point in the timeline. Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are both training, but Mark Hamill said farewell to Star Wars with The Rise of Skywalker, and rendering Carrie Fisher with CGI for a lightsaber battle simply isn't going to happen.
This means the most likely opponent of Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian season 2 is surely Ahsoka Tano. A main character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ahsoka was the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker before she turned away from the Jedi Order altogether. Despite going into hiding, Ahsoka never stopped fighting the good fight, and she was last seen looking for fellow animated protagonist Ezra Bridger. Significant chunks of Ahsoka's story remain unknown, but the character is confirmed to appear in The Mandalorian season 2. And while she might've walked out on Yoda's Force-sensitive fan club, Ahsoka remains a skilled fighter, particularly when it comes to lightsaber combat. If anyone's going to clash blade to blade with a Darksaber-waving Moff Gideon, it'll be Ahsoka.
An Ahsoka vs. Gideon duel would also make sense thematically. During the Clone Wars, Ahsoka battled a previous Darksaber owner - Pre Vizsla. The Padawan won the battle by taking out Vizsla's jetpack, and this victory gives Ahsoka an inherent connection to the ancient Mandalorian weapon. Not only is she familiar in how an opponent wields the Darksaber, but the weapon is usually passed on through single combat. Since Ahsoka beat Vizsla, she might have a more legitimate claim to the weapon than Gideon, although how he obtained it is yet to be confirmed. Ahsoka understands the significance of the Darksaber, and this means she won't fight Gideon just to take his blade for herself - she'll fight him on behalf of others and return the relic to its rightful owner. With a lack of better options, that rightful owner might even end up being Din Djarin himself.
The Mandalorian season 2 premieres October 2020 on Disney+.