Following his recent Emmy nomination for his role in the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, actor Giancarlo Esposito has offered a little more insight into what audiences can expect when we return to the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars universe. The last we saw of Esposito's villainous Moff Gideon character, he was emerging from a downed spacecraft wielding a very mysterious looking weapon, the Darksaber. Well, according to Esposito, the Darksaber will play a big part in The Mandalorian season 2.

"You'll see more of the Darksaber, you'll get the explanation of this ancient weapon to the modern world, a collapsed world. Where did this saber come from and how was it revived? It's a key in our second season, which will be back sooner than later. [The Darksaber] is a key to Moff Gideon's past, which possibly has a lot to do with where he comes from and his desire to build a planet and bring it back together."

The reveal of a jet-black lightsaber left some fans scratching their heads, whilst those who were familiar with the powerful blade leapt to their feet, cheering. The weapon is a major part of Mandalorian lore, and has featured in various other Star Wars stories, including the animated series The Clone Wars. So, it is promising to hear that The Mandalorian series 2 will be filling in the gaps for those who are not familiar with the Darksaber, rather than expecting them to do homework.

"(The saber) is a key to Moff Gideon's past, which possibly has a lot to do with where he comes from and his desire to build a planet and bring it back together," added Esposito.

As for how exactly the Darksaber will factor into the lot, that is still largely unknown, but with Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff now cast as Bo-Katan, a Mandalorian warrior who has possessed the Darksaber in the past, expect tempers to flare over ownership of the coveted weapon.

Though Esposito's Moff Gideon did not feature too heavily in the first series, he is expected to have a much larger role in the follow-up, with the actor having previously offered some intriguing details relating to the character, his past, and his relationship with the Darksaber. "To have this saber means I can use it, and I can do my own dirty work, that I'm a fighter, that I'm a warrior," he said. "That's part of me. It also creates the possibility that he is one of the ones. He possibly has that, and that to me is interesting because is he really that fallen hero? Is he a descendant of Darth Vader. Who is he? What does he want? He knows all about everything, and you'll have to wait to find out. Yeah, he's actually pretty good with that Darksaber too."

The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal as the mysterious title character, navigating his way through the Star Wars galaxy, getting into all kinds of adventures as he carries out his duties as a bounty hunter. The series picks up the story after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the Disney trilogy's First Order. We follow the travails of this lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

The popular Disney+ show was recently nominated for a whopping 15 Emmy awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. The Mandalorian season 2 is expected to hit Disney+ sometime in October 2020. This comes to us from Deadline.