Mandalorian Season 2 trailer teases a huge Palpatine twist

The Mandalorian Season 2 is nearly here. After months of apprehension among fans about a potential delay, Disney+ finally announced a release date, October 30. It also revealed a new trailer full of jokes, action, and Baby Yoda. It also contained a pretty big clue about a possible return to a planet we've seen before. Here's a hint: it's a place that has a lot of Jedi secrets, and it may have also been a hideout for a presumed-dead emperor.

In the trailer for The Mandalorian Season 2, Din Djarin and The Child traverse many planets, including one that looks an awful lot like Ilum. One of the settings looks rather unfamiliar, but it appears to be an ultra-populated city. There aren't that many planets in Star Wars with that kind of landscape, so the first one that comes to mind is the center of Galactic politics: Coruscant.

Redditor KingGreystone555 took this assumption and ran with it, suggesting Mando and his young ward are on Coruscant to break into the Jedi Temple. While the Temple was a sacred place before the establishment of the Empire, after Palpatine took over he converted it into his own personal palace.

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The theory suggests our heroes will have to pull off a heist in order to obtain some sort of information kept by the Jedi to find more Force users like Baby Yoda. If Mando needs to break into the Temple, he'd need help from a local. That could be why he's strolling through what appears to be the Coruscant slums.

At this point in the Star Wars timeline, Palpatine is thought to be dead, but Rise of Skywalker proved that wasn't true at all. He's alive, just in a decrepit clone body, and unless he takes a trip to his old stomping ground, presumably is still hiding out on Exegol. However, Palpatine still could make an appearance in The Mandalorian, be it through possibly a hologram showing the way to the "Jedi Sorcerers" made during the Great Jedi Purge or even flashbacks as the Mandalorian explores his former palace.

There's some interesting support for this theory. In Colin Trevorrow's unused script for Episode IX, Rose and Finn go on a heist into the Jedi Temple, so presumably Jon Favreau could easily adopt the plotline and adjust it for television.

However, Ian McDiarmid has not been attached to the project. Though a surprise cameo is altogether possible, it may be looking like any Palpatine appearances in Season 2 will be Dave Filoni's patented style of blink-and-you'll-miss-them easter eggs and references to Star Wars lore.

Still, any association with Palpatine takes The Mandalorian to the next level, proving Din doesn't have to just settle for messing with a henchman like Moff Gideon, he can infiltrate the very heart of the Empire (with a tiny precious Force user by his side.)

Still not convinced? Check out the full theory below.

The Mandalorian premieres October 30 on Disney+.