A Mars lander may have detected clues to the formation of the red planet billions of years ago. According to Science Mag, researchers studying NASA's InSight spacecraft, which landed on the surface of Mars two years ago, have finally been able to detect some hints of boundaries in the rock, tens and hundreds of kilometers below the planet's crust, which they say is surprisingly thin. The team also found the mantle to be of a cooler temperature than expected despite the planet's molten iron core. These new discoveries about Mars' interior have led the team to believe that the planet once cooled itself through a kind of plate tectonics, following a pattern of "upwelling mantle rock and subducting crust" that resulted in Mars efficiently shedding heat. A scientist, who wasn't involved in the mission, said these findings may present evidence of "a far more dynamic crust formation in Mars' early days." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/08/21/the-martian-features-these-9-real-nasa-technologies-ign-news"] Ever since NASA's InSight craft alighted on Mars, the seismometers have been running nonstop to measure and record details of marsquakes to garner more information about the planet's internal composition and structure. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a quake larger than magnitude 4.5, which means the seismic waves haven't been travelling as deep below the surface as researchers would want. However, two moderate quakes, at magnitude 3.7 and 3.3, have been described as "treasure troves" for the mission. Science Mag notes that the waves from these quakes barrelled towards NASA's lander, which recorded travel times. The offsets hinted at the "thickness of the crust" and suggested "distinct layers within it," according to Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun, a seismologist at the University of Cologne. InSight's data revealed that Mars could be made up of two or three layers, with the planet's crust appearing thinner than Earth's continental crust. Researchers calculated the outermost shell of the red planet to be just 20 or 37 kilometers thick, with a shallow layer beneath indicating a cooler mantle, encasing a liquid core of about 1800-kilometer radius (more than half the planet's total diameter). [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] Over the coming months, the InSight team, led by Bruce Banerdt, principal investigator and geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will continue its geological study of the red planet in an effort to record more accurate measurements from event detections and gain an even clearer picture of Mars' multi-layered interior. For other exciting space discoveries and developments, read about how NASA's Mars rover transported 10.9 million names to the red planet for a campaign, find out about the astronomers that discovered a new method to detect potentially habitable planets, and discover all of the details about the mini-moon that was found to be orbiting Earth earlier this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

A Mars lander may have detected clues to the formation of the red planet billions of years ago. According to Science Mag, researchers studying NASA's InSight spacecraft, which landed on the surface of Mars two years ago, have finally been able to detect some hints of boundaries in the rock, tens and hundreds of kilometers below the planet's crust, which they say is surprisingly thin. The team also found the mantle to be of a cooler temperature than expected despite the planet's molten iron core. These new discoveries about Mars' interior have led the team to believe that the planet once cooled itself through a kind of plate tectonics, following a pattern of "upwelling mantle rock and subducting crust" that resulted in Mars efficiently shedding heat. A scientist, who wasn't involved in the mission, said these findings may present evidence of "a far more dynamic crust formation in Mars' early days." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/08/21/the-martian-features-these-9-real-nasa-technologies-ign-news"] Ever since NASA's InSight craft alighted on Mars, the seismometers have been running nonstop to measure and record details of marsquakes to garner more information about the planet's internal composition and structure. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a quake larger than magnitude 4.5, which means the seismic waves haven't been travelling as deep below the surface as researchers would want. However, two moderate quakes, at magnitude 3.7 and 3.3, have been described as "treasure troves" for the mission. Science Mag notes that the waves from these quakes barrelled towards NASA's lander, which recorded travel times. The offsets hinted at the "thickness of the crust" and suggested "distinct layers within it," according to Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun, a seismologist at the University of Cologne. InSight's data revealed that Mars could be made up of two or three layers, with the planet's crust appearing thinner than Earth's continental crust. Researchers calculated the outermost shell of the red planet to be just 20 or 37 kilometers thick, with a shallow layer beneath indicating a cooler mantle, encasing a liquid core of about 1800-kilometer radius (more than half the planet's total diameter). [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] Over the coming months, the InSight team, led by Bruce Banerdt, principal investigator and geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will continue its geological study of the red planet in an effort to record more accurate measurements from event detections and gain an even clearer picture of Mars' multi-layered interior. For other exciting space discoveries and developments, read about how NASA's Mars rover transported 10.9 million names to the red planet for a campaign, find out about the astronomers that discovered a new method to detect potentially habitable planets, and discover all of the details about the mini-moon that was found to be orbiting Earth earlier this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Google has released its annual list of global trending searches and it perfectly encapsulates the biggest moments of the year we can't wait to put behind us. Among some of the top searches were Chadwick Boseman, Among Us, and Tiger King. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-reviewed-games-of-2020&captions=true"] It's worth noting that Google compiled these lists based on the biggest year-over-year searches, or spikes, for each specific term. Put simply, these aren't necessarily the most-searched terms of the year, just the most popular as compared to last year. Gaming saw a big increase in 2020 as many needed to shelter-in-place, with record-breaking spending at the beginning of the year. Topping Google's list of top trending searches for gaming globally were Among Us and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which both saw incredible popularity due to their accessibility and multiplayer nature. Valorant, Genshin Impact, and The Last of Us Part 2 also populated the list. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/fall-guys-season-3-launch-trailer"] Fall Guys was a breakout success, becoming the most downloaded PlayStation Plus game of all-time when it launched in August. It dominated our Summer, had massive viewership across Twitch, and even had companies competing to include in-game skins. But Fall Guys wasn't the only multiplayer game that generated mass appeal. Among Us experienced a sudden surge in popularity despite being released in 2018. Among Us quickly shot up the charts on Twitch (as well as Steam and mobile) to become one of the biggest games of 2020. Everyone was playing Among Us, including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who streamed it earlier this year in front of a massive audience of over 430,000 viewers. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/among-us-toppat-airship-map-reveal-trailer] On the entertainment side, Netflix dominated most of the conversation. Tiger King, Cobra Kai, Money Heist, and Umbrella Academy were among the top trending searches for TV shows, with Big Brother Brasil also making the cut, too. Tiger King was a moment in 2020. It was so popular, in fact, that Netflix is working on a spinoff starring Nicolas Cage in a new scripted docuseries. NBCUniversal is also working on a separate series starring SNL's Kate McKinnon depicting the rivalry between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-true-crime-shows-and-movies-to-watch-online&captions=true"] Parasite was the most-searched movie of 2020, after winning Best Picture and making history at the 2020 Academy Awards and director Bong-Joon Ho tying Walt Disney for most Oscar wins in a single ceremony. Other top trending movies included 1917, 365 Dni, and Contagion. 2018's Black Panther was also one of the top trending searches of the year, largely in part to the untimely passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, known best for playing T'Challa in the Marvel films. It was also recently revealed that Boseman will not be recast in the upcoming Black Panther 2. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] For more of 2020's best, check out IGN's Game of the Year Awards 2020 and our Best Movie, TV, and Comics of the Year Awards 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Google has released its annual list of global trending searches and it perfectly encapsulates the biggest moments of the year we can't wait to put behind us. Among some of the top searches were Chadwick Boseman, Among Us, and Tiger King. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-reviewed-games-of-2020&captions=true"] It's worth noting that Google compiled these lists based on the biggest year-over-year searches, or spikes, for each specific term. Put simply, these aren't necessarily the most-searched terms of the year, just the most popular as compared to last year. Gaming saw a big increase in 2020 as many needed to shelter-in-place, with record-breaking spending at the beginning of the year. Topping Google's list of top trending searches for gaming globally were Among Us and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which both saw incredible popularity due to their accessibility and multiplayer nature. Valorant, Genshin Impact, and The Last of Us Part 2 also populated the list. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/fall-guys-season-3-launch-trailer"] Fall Guys was a breakout success, becoming the most downloaded PlayStation Plus game of all-time when it launched in August. It dominated our Summer, had massive viewership across Twitch, and even had companies competing to include in-game skins. But Fall Guys wasn't the only multiplayer game that generated mass appeal. Among Us experienced a sudden surge in popularity despite being released in 2018. Among Us quickly shot up the charts on Twitch (as well as Steam and mobile) to become one of the biggest games of 2020. Everyone was playing Among Us, including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who streamed it earlier this year in front of a massive audience of over 430,000 viewers. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/among-us-toppat-airship-map-reveal-trailer] On the entertainment side, Netflix dominated most of the conversation. Tiger King, Cobra Kai, Money Heist, and Umbrella Academy were among the top trending searches for TV shows, with Big Brother Brasil also making the cut, too. Tiger King was a moment in 2020. It was so popular, in fact, that Netflix is working on a spinoff starring Nicolas Cage in a new scripted docuseries. NBCUniversal is also working on a separate series starring SNL's Kate McKinnon depicting the rivalry between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-true-crime-shows-and-movies-to-watch-online&captions=true"] Parasite was the most-searched movie of 2020, after winning Best Picture and making history at the 2020 Academy Awards and director Bong-Joon Ho tying Walt Disney for most Oscar wins in a single ceremony. Other top trending movies included 1917, 365 Dni, and Contagion. 2018's Black Panther was also one of the top trending searches of the year, largely in part to the untimely passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, known best for playing T'Challa in the Marvel films. It was also recently revealed that Boseman will not be recast in the upcoming Black Panther 2. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] For more of 2020's best, check out IGN's Game of the Year Awards 2020 and our Best Movie, TV, and Comics of the Year Awards 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Update (12/26/20) - Nintendo's Network Status page is no longer reporting any issues with users connecting to the Nintendo Switch eShop and says that "All servers are operating normally." [poilib element="accentDivider"] If you just received a new Nintendo Switch for the holidays and can't connect to the eShop to download new games, you aren't alone. Nintendo has announced that it is "aware that players are experiencing errors accessing Nintendo eShop, and are working to address the issue as soon as possible." Nintendo took to Twitter to give the news and also said "Thank you for your understanding, and please see our Network Status page for the latest updates." You can click here to check the status of the Nintendo eShop, and we will update this article when services appear to be working again. As of this writing, when you go to Nintendo's Network Maintenance Information page, it has a notice that players could be receiving when trying to access the eShop that says, "Unable to connect to the network service. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Considering today is Christmas, the cause of these network issues could very well be the many new Nintendo Switch consoles that were opened today or those with gift cards trying to purchase new games. As previously mentioned, we will update this article as soon as we hear the problems are fixed. Until then, be sure to check out our list of the top 25 Switch games to give you an idea what you can play this holiday season and beyond. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/the-best-nintendo-switch-games-fall-2020-update"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Update (12/26/20) - Nintendo's Network Status page is no longer reporting any issues with users connecting to the Nintendo Switch eShop and says that "All servers are operating normally." [poilib element="accentDivider"] If you just received a new Nintendo Switch for the holidays and can't connect to the eShop to download new games, you aren't alone. Nintendo has announced that it is "aware that players are experiencing errors accessing Nintendo eShop, and are working to address the issue as soon as possible." Nintendo took to Twitter to give the news and also said "Thank you for your understanding, and please see our Network Status page for the latest updates." You can click here to check the status of the Nintendo eShop, and we will update this article when services appear to be working again. As of this writing, when you go to Nintendo's Network Maintenance Information page, it has a notice that players could be receiving when trying to access the eShop that says, "Unable to connect to the network service. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Considering today is Christmas, the cause of these network issues could very well be the many new Nintendo Switch consoles that were opened today or those with gift cards trying to purchase new games. As previously mentioned, we will update this article as soon as we hear the problems are fixed. Until then, be sure to check out our list of the top 25 Switch games to give you an idea what you can play this holiday season and beyond. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/the-best-nintendo-switch-games-fall-2020-update"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new, mysterious small marine reptile from 150 million years ago, known as the Thalassodraco etchesi or Etches sea dragon, was recently discovered in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England. As reported by SciTech Daily, this species may have been able to dive to extreme depths, and was determined to be part of the group known as the ichthyosaurs, which are "streamlined marine predators from the Late Jurassic period." “This ichthyosaur has several differences that makes it unique enough to be its own genus and species,” paleontologist Megan L. Jacobs said. “New Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the United Kingdom are extremely rare, as these creatures have been studied for 200 years. We knew it was new almost instantly, but it took about a year to make thorough comparisons with all other Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs to make certain our instincts were correct. It was very exciting to not be able to find a match.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Illustration of Thalassodraco etchesi. Credit: Megan Jacobs[/caption] This specific specimen was discovered in 2009 and was estimated to have been about 6 feet long. It was discovered by fossil collector Steve Etches MBE after a "cliff crumbled along the seaside." It appears to have some similarities to sperm whales with its "extremely deep rib cage" that may have allowed for larger lungs and space so internal organs weren't crushed under the pressure. It also had large eyes, which meant it could have been able to see well in low light. Its hundreds of tiny teeth seem to indicate a diet that may have consisted of squid and small fish, and "the teeth are unique by being completely smooth." [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Photo of the sea dragon (Thalassodraco etches) fossil (MJML K1885). Credit: The Etches Collection, Dorset, UK[/caption] “They still had to breathe air at the surface and didn’t have scales,” Jacobs said. “There is hardly anything actually known about the biology of these animals. We can only make assumptions from the fossils we have, but there’s nothing like it around today. Eventually, to adapt to being fully aquatic, they no longer could go up onto land to lay eggs, so they evolved into bearing live young, tail first. There have been skeletons found with babies within the mother and also ones that were actually being born.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new, mysterious small marine reptile from 150 million years ago, known as the Thalassodraco etchesi or Etches sea dragon, was recently discovered in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England. As reported by SciTech Daily, this species may have been able to dive to extreme depths, and was determined to be part of the group known as the ichthyosaurs, which are "streamlined marine predators from the Late Jurassic period." “This ichthyosaur has several differences that makes it unique enough to be its own genus and species,” paleontologist Megan L. Jacobs said. “New Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the United Kingdom are extremely rare, as these creatures have been studied for 200 years. We knew it was new almost instantly, but it took about a year to make thorough comparisons with all other Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs to make certain our instincts were correct. It was very exciting to not be able to find a match.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Illustration of Thalassodraco etchesi. Credit: Megan Jacobs[/caption] This specific specimen was discovered in 2009 and was estimated to have been about 6 feet long. It was discovered by fossil collector Steve Etches MBE after a "cliff crumbled along the seaside." It appears to have some similarities to sperm whales with its "extremely deep rib cage" that may have allowed for larger lungs and space so internal organs weren't crushed under the pressure. It also had large eyes, which meant it could have been able to see well in low light. Its hundreds of tiny teeth seem to indicate a diet that may have consisted of squid and small fish, and "the teeth are unique by being completely smooth." [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Photo of the sea dragon (Thalassodraco etches) fossil (MJML K1885). Credit: The Etches Collection, Dorset, UK[/caption] “They still had to breathe air at the surface and didn’t have scales,” Jacobs said. “There is hardly anything actually known about the biology of these animals. We can only make assumptions from the fossils we have, but there’s nothing like it around today. Eventually, to adapt to being fully aquatic, they no longer could go up onto land to lay eggs, so they evolved into bearing live young, tail first. There have been skeletons found with babies within the mother and also ones that were actually being born.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian has returned to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the second season of The Mandalorian was made. In this hour-long special, we not only learn some cool details about the show, but we are also treated to the most adorable clip of Baby Yoda/The Child/Grogu dancing with director Robert Rodriguez. Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is available now on Disney+ and, to help celebrate its launch, Robert Rodriguez - who directed this season's episode titled The Tragedy - shared an extended clip featured in the special of him playing guitar as Baby Yoda dances along.

Here’s a Christmas present to all those who asked me what it’s like to hang out with Baby Yoda on the set of #TheMandalorian #TheTragedy. Check out #DisneyGallery for more behind the scenes! pic.twitter.com/6ShINBxJAN

— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) December 25, 2020

Spoiler Warning for the second season of The Mandalorian. As if that wasn't enough of a treat, Rodriguez also told the story of how he went to his backyard and filmed his sons and some Star Wars action figures to illustrate his vision for the epic Boba Fett scene from The Tragedy for the team. We even get a short glimpse of the video at the 42:10 mark in the special. Alongside these wonderful gifts from Rodriguez, The Mandalorian's crew reveal some very interesting details as they go through each episode, and you can check out some of our favorites below;

• The codename for The Mandalorian TV series is Huckleberry.
• The Volume, which is the groundbreaking wraparound LED screen that is used on set for backgrounds and immersing the actors in the scenes, was 100 feet long and 22 feet tall for this season.
• The Krayt Dragon in the season premiere was originally only designed to be 150ft long, but the team decided it needed to have much more presence and ended up being a 600-foot monster.
• David Choe was brought in to help make the graffiti in the premiere feel authentic. He even got the chance to play an alien this season.
• The ice spiders from the second episode of season 2 were inspired by the work of Star Wars legend Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie is responsible for so much of what makes Star Wars look like Star Wars.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-mandalorian-season-2-finale-grogus-jedi-finally-revealed-star-wars-canon-fodder"]

• Misty Rosas played the Frog Lady in season 2. Rosas also played Kuiil in season 1.
• Dave Filoni purposefully didn't bring Ahsoka Tano into the first season of The Mandalorian because he didn't want to mess her introduction up and rush into it.
• Ahsoka's lightsabers went through many iterations as Dave Filoni wanted them to be in a smaller form that was similar to Samurai katanas.
• Ahsoka, who was created by both George Lucas and Dave Filoni for The Clone Wars, was one of the first things Filoni ever drew for the project.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-actor-and-character-in-the-mandalorian&captions=true"]

• Robert Rodriguez turned that Boba Fett battle scene in The Tragedy from a "3-page battle scene into a 9-minute battle scene." He also wanted to make Boba Fett into what we all imagined him to be.
• When comparing Boba Fett to The Mandalorian, Rodriguez said that if The Mandalorian is a gunslinger, Boba Fett is a barbarian.
• Boba Fett actor Temuera Morison, who was born in New Zealand, requested that the gaffi stick he wielded take inspiration from Maori culture.
• While pretty much all of the scenes in The Mandalorian are shot in-doors in front of the Volume LED screen, the team had to go to Simi Valley in California to shoot the battle scene in The Tragedy as the indoor set was just too small.
• One of the most difficult parts of filming in Simi Valley was that they couldn't use explosions due to the risk of causing a fire. The one exception was for the scene where Fennec is running along the rocks as it was far away from anything combustible.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/05/the-mandalorian-season-2-how-this-iconic-character-is-finally-redeemed"]

• In The Believer, with the help of The Volume LED screen, we are able to see the interior of Boba Fett's Slave One rotating during take-off for the first time.
• While many miniatures of ships - like the Razor Crest - in The Mandalorian were scanned in to be used on The Volume, Moff Gideon's cruiser was built as a 5-foot-long miniature that was filmed using techniques seen in the original films.
• The staff wielded by Bib Fortuna in Jabba's Palace was taken from his action figure and is the first time it has appeared on screen.

For more on The Mandalorian, check out our full season 2 review, our explainer of the season's ending and what it means for season 3, and the reveal of The Book of Boba Fett spinoff series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/the-mandalorian-season-2-in-17-minutes"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian has returned to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the second season of The Mandalorian was made. In this hour-long special, we not only learn some cool details about the show, but we are also treated to the most adorable clip of Baby Yoda/The Child/Grogu dancing with director Robert Rodriguez. Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is available now on Disney+ and, to help celebrate its launch, Robert Rodriguez - who directed this season's episode titled The Tragedy - shared an extended clip featured in the special of him playing guitar as Baby Yoda dances along.

Here’s a Christmas present to all those who asked me what it’s like to hang out with Baby Yoda on the set of #TheMandalorian #TheTragedy. Check out #DisneyGallery for more behind the scenes! pic.twitter.com/6ShINBxJAN

— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) December 25, 2020

Spoiler Warning for the second season of The Mandalorian. As if that wasn't enough of a treat, Rodriguez also told the story of how he went to his backyard and filmed his sons and some Star Wars action figures to illustrate his vision for the epic Boba Fett scene from The Tragedy for the team. We even get a short glimpse of the video at the 42:10 mark in the special. Alongside these wonderful gifts from Rodriguez, The Mandalorian's crew reveal some very interesting details as they go through each episode, and you can check out some of our favorites below;

• The codename for The Mandalorian TV series is Huckleberry.
• The Volume, which is the groundbreaking wraparound LED screen that is used on set for backgrounds and immersing the actors in the scenes, was 100 feet long and 22 feet tall for this season.
• The Krayt Dragon in the season premiere was originally only designed to be 150ft long, but the team decided it needed to have much more presence and ended up being a 600-foot monster.
• David Choe was brought in to help make the graffiti in the premiere feel authentic. He even got the chance to play an alien this season.
• The ice spiders from the second episode of season 2 were inspired by the work of Star Wars legend Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie is responsible for so much of what makes Star Wars look like Star Wars.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-mandalorian-season-2-finale-grogus-jedi-finally-revealed-star-wars-canon-fodder"]

• Misty Rosas played the Frog Lady in season 2. Rosas also played Kuiil in season 1.
• Dave Filoni purposefully didn't bring Ahsoka Tano into the first season of The Mandalorian because he didn't want to mess her introduction up and rush into it.
• Ahsoka's lightsabers went through many iterations as Dave Filoni wanted them to be in a smaller form that was similar to Samurai katanas.
• Ahsoka, who was created by both George Lucas and Dave Filoni for The Clone Wars, was one of the first things Filoni ever drew for the project.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-actor-and-character-in-the-mandalorian&captions=true"]

• Robert Rodriguez turned that Boba Fett battle scene in The Tragedy from a "3-page battle scene into a 9-minute battle scene." He also wanted to make Boba Fett into what we all imagined him to be.
• When comparing Boba Fett to The Mandalorian, Rodriguez said that if The Mandalorian is a gunslinger, Boba Fett is a barbarian.
• Boba Fett actor Temuera Morison, who was born in New Zealand, requested that the gaffi stick he wielded take inspiration from Maori culture.
• While pretty much all of the scenes in The Mandalorian are shot in-doors in front of the Volume LED screen, the team had to go to Simi Valley in California to shoot the battle scene in The Tragedy as the indoor set was just too small.
• One of the most difficult parts of filming in Simi Valley was that they couldn't use explosions due to the risk of causing a fire. The one exception was for the scene where Fennec is running along the rocks as it was far away from anything combustible.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/05/the-mandalorian-season-2-how-this-iconic-character-is-finally-redeemed"]

• In The Believer, with the help of The Volume LED screen, we are able to see the interior of Boba Fett's Slave One rotating during take-off for the first time.
• While many miniatures of ships - like the Razor Crest - in The Mandalorian were scanned in to be used on The Volume, Moff Gideon's cruiser was built as a 5-foot-long miniature that was filmed using techniques seen in the original films.
• The staff wielded by Bib Fortuna in Jabba's Palace was taken from his action figure and is the first time it has appeared on screen.

For more on The Mandalorian, check out our full season 2 review, our explainer of the season's ending and what it means for season 3, and the reveal of The Book of Boba Fett spinoff series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/the-mandalorian-season-2-in-17-minutes"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.