The Mandalorian Character Who Could Have A Bigger Role Than We Thought
After setting a bold new course for the galaxy far, far away with a barn-burning first season, Lucasfilm's stylish Disney+ streamer The Mandalorian upped the ante for season 2, changing the game in surprising ways for both Mando (Pedro Pascal) and the series' Force-sensitive foundling Grogu (aka the Child or Baby Yoda). For Mando, that involved opening himself up to and teaming with new and familiar faces in a way he was previously incapable of. For Grogu, well, we all know what became of the powerful young Jedi in The Mandalorian's thrilling season 2 finale.
As the whole of Star Wars fandom now knows, the return of Galaxy icon Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was the topic of conversation after that finale premiered, particularly as little Grogu traipsed off with the doomed Jedi Master to continue his own training. The episode did, however, feature the return of a couple other Star Wars legends, one of whom made her own live-action debut in season 2. And as cool as it was to see Mando team with Boba Fett (Temeurah Morrison) and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) to take down the Darksaber-wielding Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), some Mandalorian fans couldn't help but notice one of Bo-Katan's Nite Owl crew was not on hand when the gang stormed Gideon's Imperial Cruiser.
The absent party was Bo-Katan's Mandalorian buddy Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides), and it seems Woves' absence from that fateful finale fight was no accident. In fact, according to one of The Mandalorian's key season 2 players, Woves' absence may well mean the character will have a much bigger role than expected in the ever-expanding Star Wars cinematic universe.
Axe Woves appears to be ticketed for a much bigger story arc than previously believed
That player was Bo-Katan herself, Katee Sackhoff. And in the course of an extensive, refreshingly candid interview with The Sith Council podcast, she was pointedly asked why Axe Woves wasn't fighting alongside Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks) when they helped Mando in the finale. Even in answering coyly, Sackhoff let slip that not only is Woves' whereabouts during the siege known, his actions will indeed tie into the series' narrative somewhere down the road. "He just wasn't there! He just wasn't there. And there's a reason. It's just one of those things where I don't know if that story is something I'm supposed to tell. So he's just not there."
At least for now, Axe Woves' whereabouts during the finale showdown will remain a mystery. And unlike Bo-Katan (who featured prominently in the animated The Clone Wars series), we can't simply look to other Galaxy-set stories for possible reference because Woves didn't make his Galaxy debut until The Mandalorian's second season. And given the way the Galaxy is growing on Disney+, one has to wonder if Woves' The Mandalorian absence might not portent an appearance on another Star Wars streamer.
Obvious questions aside, Axe Woves' Star Wars return is now all but confirmed. And as Bo-Katan is almost certainly ticketed for more The Mandalorian screen time moving forward, it's a safe bet Woves will get a significant narrative upgrade in season 3, too. Likewise, one has to imagine his conspicuous absence likely has something to do with Bo-Katan's plans to reclaim the Mandalorian throne (now complicated by Mando's inadvertent claim on The Darksaber). Whatever the case, Axe Woves' Star Wars profile is clearly about to get an upgrade, and we cannot wait to see what the Galaxy has in store for him.