New Mandalorian merchandise suggests the Empire strikes back in a big way during season 2

The Mandalorian season 2 is filled with mysteries: will Mando find more of his kind? Will Baby Yoda stop eating eggs? And, most importantly, will Moff Gideon’s iron fist help the Empire return to past glories?

Of course, we know through the sequel trilogies that Imperial forces are long gone. But that probably won’t stop Giancarlo Esposito’s Darksaber-wielding villain from literally bringing out the big guns in his pursuit of The Child.

As spotted by io9, a new series of official Mandalorian Topps trading cards have been released through the Star Wars Card Trader app. Among them is a peculiar sight: an almost Star Destroyer-sized ship that bares a large resemblance to an Imperial Light Cruiser, a vessel that has been spotted across spin-offs such as The Clone Wars and Rebels.

With TIE fighters flanking it, it stands to reason that Moff Gideon is the one in charge of the space armada – that is, if The Mandalorian trading cards are representative of what’s about to go down in the show. Take this one with a Krayt dragon-sized pinch of salt, just in case.

If that is the case, though, it spells bad news for Mando and Baby Yoda. The last time we saw Gideon, he was scything his way out of his crashed personal carrier. His absence across the first two episodes indicates that he’ll return shortly with an ace up his sleeve – and it doesn’t get much bigger than your own fleet.

Find out exactly when the next episode drops on Disney Plus with The Mandalorian season 2 release schedule.