'Mandalorian' Season 2 set photos may solve a glaring 'Rise of Skywalker' mystery

Figuring out which planets Din Djarin visits with Baby Yoda in Season 1 of The Mandalorian isn’t easy at first glance. Though we eventually figured out Mando and his people were hiding on the planet Nevarro, some of us thought it might have been Tatooine at first. Now it seems another planet mystery is looming for the sophomore season of The Mandalorian. If one rumor is to be believed, Mando might visit the planet Mustafar, which could shed light on one of the more bizarre plot points of The Rise of Skywalker.

Speculation and Rise of Skywalker spoilers ahead.

According to master leaker Jason Ward of Making Star Wars, a new set photo from The Mandalorian Season 2 depicts a planet with a bunch of burnt trees. Ward suggests this could be Mustafar. We think this is a pretty big hyperspace long shot, but it’s still fun to think about. Here’s why.

It’s easy to miss thatRise of Skywalker visits Mustafar

Though it wasn’t at all obvious, Kylo Ren was raiding the volcanic planet of Mustafar at the start of The Rise of Skywalker. In Revenge of the Sith, Mustafar is the planet where Obi-Wan and Anakin have the fateful duel that sees Anakin lose his legs and take a bath in lava, which prompts him donning the Darth Vader suit.

We tend to think of Star Wars planets in terms of a single biome (desert, forest, etc), which is actually hilariously silly. (Even Tatooine might have some bodies of water, folks.) So those trees at the beginning of Rise of Skywalker don’t immediately bring Mustafar to mind.

Still, according to the Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, these trees were planted after Vader’s death by an obsessive cult called the Alazmec. Now, we see a similar environment for Mando Season 2. So, the thinking here is that maybe we’re seeing early attempts of the Alazmec to get their Vader garden started.

Baby Yoda may have ties to Mustafar

Admittedly, it does feel a little random for Mando to hit up a pre-Rise of Skywalker (but post-Revenge of the Sith) Mustafar. But it’s not that crazy when you consider that we don’t know anything about the origins of Baby Yoda, and that he can use the Force. The easy assumption is that Baby Yoda is, in fact, the offspring of regular Yoda, and therefore, inclined toward the Light side of the Force. But Baby Yoda straight-up tries to Force choke people, and he certainly has temper tantrums that feel Dark side-ish.

What’s more, the Empire has a very specific interest in “the child.” At one point, Mando mentioned that he thought that Baby Yoda is a “strand cast” — meaning he wasn’t created organically — but Kuiil ruled out this idea, saying “I don’t think it was engineered. I’ve worked in the gene farms. This one looks evolved.”

This line was hilarious, because it seemed directed toward those of us who had cooked up the fan theory that Baby Yoda was a clone. (In fairness, that Dr. Pershing guy totally had an Attack of the Clones-era cloner patch on his clothes!)

Anyway, the larger point is that if Baby Yoda does have natural, Force-sensitive parents, what if they’re drawn to the Dark side? If that’s the case, going to Mustafar might be something Mando doesn’t want to do, but has to do.

The Sith Wayfinder probably won’t get explained… but you never know

So, if Mando and Baby Yoda do visit Mustafar, the big question would be: Will they see that little box where Darth Vader (presumably) hid the Sith Wayfinder?

Probably not. Even when Mando visited Tatooine, it’s not like he had to swing by Jabba’s Palace or the Lars Homestead. The Mandalorian plays in the Star Wars galaxy without being too beholden to Easter eggs and callbacks. Sure, Rey’s new Force-power was debuted by Baby Yoda a day before The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters. And yes, we got to see some retro X-Wings. But overall, the in-your-face references to the films have been pretty small.

In other words, visiting Mustafar is totally a possibility for Mandalorian Season 2. Just don’t expect them to find Darth Vader’s ghost while they’re there.

The Mandalorian season 2 hits Disney+ in Fall of 2020.