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'The Mandalorian' Season 2 trailer teases Sasha Banks, fans ask if it’s Sabine Wren, presumed Asian character

Sabine Wren was a human female Mandalorian warrior and revolutionary leader during the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire. She was introduced in ‘Star Wars Rebels’ as a graffiti artist, a proponent of liberty

The trailer for season 2 of ‘The Mandalorian’ dropped on Tuesday, September 15, and the titular bounty hunter and Baby Yoda are once again on a road trip.

In the trailer, the Mandalorian warrior Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) is tasked with returning The Child, popularly known as Baby Yoda, to his home planet. The Armorer tells the Mandalorian in the trailer, “The songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great and an order of sorcerers called Jedi,” to which he replies, “You expect me to search the galaxy and return this creature to a race of enemy sorcerers?”

The trailer for the Disney+ and Lucasfilm show created by Jon Favreau sees the titular lead take on new and old enemies, including Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), and rely on allies in Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers). The trailer, however, does not yet feature Rosario Dawson, Katee Sackhoff, Temeura Morrison, and Timothy Olyphant -- all of whom are part of the season 2 cast. In the trailer, we also see a mysterious woman in a hood (played by Sasha Banks) briefly appear before them, before vanishing. 

Season 2 directors include Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Weathers, Peyton Reed, and Robert Rodriguez. Favreau executive produces along with Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson. Karen Gilchrist serves as a co-executive producer.

On social media, fans of the show could not help but get excited about the upcoming season. And of course, no discourse on ‘The Mandalorian’ is possible without fawning over Baby Yoda. 

“Baby Yoda hiding when his dad is about to fight is both hilarious and adorable,” wrote the Star Wars Stuff twitter account. Another fan of the show wrote, “I missed Baby Yoda.” Another fan wrote sharing a GIF of Baby Yoda, “This is all I needed. #TheMandalorian.”

But the real speculation that the trailer spawned was about Banks’ rumored role. Banks, whose real name is Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado, is a professional wrestler known for her work with the WWE. And fans are speculating that she will play the role of Sabine Wren, a human female Mandalorian warrior and revolutionary leader during the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire.

One fan wrote, “Apparently, this woman from The Mandalorian trailer is Sabine Wren... folks if it's true, y'all are going to hear me scream non stop until October. But now please give me Rosario as Ashoka.” But not everyone agreed with the speculation. “This character: Long solid color hair, Non-Asian actress, Boring black cloak, Appears when the narrator is talking about Jedi. Everyone: Ah yes, Sabine Wren!” wrote another fan. Another fan noted the same, “Reminder that Sabine Wren is Asian so she better someone else.”

There is some merit to the disagreement about Banks playing Sabine Wren. In the trailer, we see Banks’s character disappear into the ether, implying that she is a Force-sensitive character. She is also introduced right when the Armorer (Emily Swallow) tells Djarin that Baby Yoda must be reunited with his people, the Jedi. That reinforces that idea.

While the ethnicity of Sabine Wren has never explicitly been mentioned, fans generally hold consensus that she is an Asian-coded heroine. Though, within that boundary too, fans often argue if she’s South Asian, East Asian, or Central Asian in terms of her ethnicity. In 2017, Pablo Hidalgo, a member of the Lucasfilm Story Group, reportedly retweeted a photo of a ‘Star Wars: Force Arena’ fan art depicting Sabine Wren as east Asian. Fans have since taken it as a confirmation of their beliefs. 

Sabine Wren was introduced in ‘Star Wars Rebels’. She’s nothing like the stoic Mandalorians we’ve so far been introduced to. She’s a graffiti artist, a proponent of liberty; and she’s pals with a bunch of renegade Jedi. Prior to becoming a rebel, Wren was a cadet at the Imperial Academy of Mandalore. She built weapons she believed would be used for peace but were instead used against her family and her people. Her artistry during the rebellion inspired the symbol of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and her claim over the ancient Mandalorian weapon known as the Darksaber made her a symbol to Clan Wren.

A third season of ‘The Mandalorian’ is already in the works. Sources close to the production told Variety that creator and showrunner Jon Favreau has been “writing Season 3 for a while.”

‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2 premières October 30 on Disney+.