Star Wars: Will Sabine Wren Be in The Mandalorian Season 2?
Is Sasha Banks playing Sabine Wren on The Mandalorian season 2? Here's why Sabine's return makes sense for the Star Wars live-action show.
The Mandalorian season 2 trailer set the stage for what will likely be another explosive year for the Star Wars live-action series. The second season picks up where the first left off, with the Mandalorian searching for the home of Baby Yoda, the most sought after prize in the entire galaxy. As the trailer teases, the journey could lead them to the Jedi, the “sorcerers” who were once known as the enemy of the Mandalorians.
At one point in the video, specifically a clip referencing the Jedi, we see a mysterious cloaked figure watching Mando and the Child from afar. Many fans immediately speculated that this was Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, who is set to make her big-screen debut, but it was quickly revealed that this was a different character played by none other than WWE superstar Sasha Banks. Check out a screengrab of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment for yourself:
So if this isn’t Ahsoka keeping an eye on the Child, who is Banks’ mystery woman? Some fans are speculating that Banks is bringing fan-favorite Rebels animated series character Sabine Wren to life in The Mandalorian season 2. The theory isn’t a particularly far-fetched one once you look at the evidence.
For one thing, Ahsoka’s arrival on The Mandalorian pretty much paves the way for Sabine to join the show. The last time we saw Sabine on Rebels, she was reuniting with Ahsoka and the two set out to search for Ezra Bridger, a young Jedi hero who was lost in hyperspace during the show’s final battle with the Empire. Ahsoka and Sabine’s reunion is actually an epilogue to the show set a year after the Battle of Endor and the fall of the Empire. That’s 5 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).
Meanwhile, The Mandalorian is set in 9 ABY, so four years after that epilogue and not too long after Ahsoka and Sabine set out to find Ezra. Fans who have been following executive producer Dave Filoni’s Star Wars work from The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian know that he loves to follow story threads from one series to the next. With so few years having passed between the Rebels epilogue and the start of The Mandalorian, there’s a very big possibility that the live-action series will pick up where Ahsoka left off, still searching for Ezra alongside Sabine.
There’s also the fact that Sabine herself is a Mandalorian and one of the freedom fighters who helped free Mandalore from an Imperial puppet government. The Mandalorian has already addressed how the Empire ravaged Mandalore and left the warrior race scattered and exiled from their home. Including Sabine in the story would allow Disney to draw a clear narrative throughline between the events on Mandalore from Rebels and what’s happened since. Sabine fought bravely for Mandalore and will likely have quite a few things to say about the Empire decimating her people. This commentary seems too good to pass up for the show.
Sabine was also one of the last Mandalorians to wield the Darksaber, the powerful blade traditionally carried by Mand’alor, the leader of the warrior race, before Moff Gideon got a hold of it. Her story on Rebels was tied to the Darksaber at one point, as she decided whether she should wield the weapon herself or pass it on to another Mandalorian. In the end, she gifted the Darksaber to Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze, who will also reportedly make her live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 2. She’ll be played by Katee Sackhoff, who voiced the character on The Clone Wars and Rebels.
With so much tying Sabine to the history and fate of the Mandalorians as well as Ahsoka’s own story, it makes sense that her journey would continue on The Mandalorian in some way. There have also been rumors that Ahsoka’s appearance on the show will actually act as a backdoor pilot for the character’s own solo Disney+ series, and it’s possible that Sabine will tag along, especially if that show focuses on their continued search for Ezra or other Jedi.
Which brings us to the next question: assuming Banks is playing Sabine in this trailer, what is her interest in Mando and Baby Yoda? Trailers are designed to be misleading, so it’s very possible Banks’ character isn’t actually spying on Mando, but if she is, one explanation is that she’s working with Ahsoka to find and rescue the Force-sensitive child. Maybe they know where Baby Yoda comes from or just feel that this potential future Jedi needs rescuing.
Another explanation is that Sabine is looking for Mando because of their shared Mandalorian past. Perhaps she’s recruiting a team to help her take down Moff Gideon and get the Darksaber back?
We likely won’t find out who Banks is playing and/or what Sabine is doing on The Mandalorian season 2 until the show actually returns. Luckily, we won’t have to wait that much longer. The Mandalorian season 2 premieres on Oct. 30 on Disney+.
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John Saavedra is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den of Geek. He lives in New York City with his two cats.