Marshall Cobb Vanth

Once upon a time, it was announced that there would be three Mandalorian spin-off series produced by Jon Fareau and Dave Filoni. 1) The Book of Boba Fett; 2) Ahsoka; and 3) Rangers of the New Republic. However, after Gina Carano was released by Disney, the word was that the Rangers series was being put on hold.

Fast forward to late last fall, the internet was momentarily abuzz that the series was moving forward again with -- (cue drumroll) -- Timothy Olyphant starring in the role of Cobb Vanth. However, THAT talk quickly died down once Olyphant announced that he was reprising his role as Raylan Givens from the Justified series in a new, limited series based off the Elmore Leonard novel, 'City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.' Once that announcement was made back in January, the scuttlebutt about Olyphant starring in his own Star Wars show was silenced.

HOWEVER .... Timothy Olyphant did make an appearance in TBoBF ... AND, most importantly ... he was shown to have survived his showdown with Cade Bane and was, apparently, going to get an android arm and shoulder. While it could well be that Favreau is simply setting things up for another Cobb Vanth guest appearance in Mando, why go to all the time and expense of adding a psyborg element when you've already got a certified, fan-favorite actor like Timothy Olyphant in the role?

Any "but, but but, Olyphant is going to do another Justified series" talk implies he's already booked up. But my understanding is the Justified reprise is a limited series. Think how long we've all been waiting for the Ahsoka series. It's highly likely that the earliest Rangers would go into pre-production is 2024 or later -- which is why there's no absolutely reason for any grand announcment from Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Favreau, or Timothy Olyphant right now.

Admittedly, this is all pure speculation on my part but, think about it, why would Favreau go to the trouble of setting the stage for a new and improved, 'Iron Man'-ish Cobb Vanth to return if it's not to star in his own Disney+ Star Wars series?

 

Last year, there was speculation at this time that the Rangers series was being brought back out of moth balls starring Timothy Olphant as Cobb Vanth. That talk died down when Olphant announced he was going to return in a new Justified season.

However, Favreau didn't show Cobb Vanth getting a new mechanical shoulder and arm in a TBOBF special after-credits scene only to walk away from it. And - FWIW - the Justified season that Olphant is working on is being billed as a limited series.