For those with a keen eye and a desire to know everything about everything, there’s a lot of Easter Eggs and special casting in the Disney+ series, “The Mandalorian.” And in one case, that cameo casting included Adam Pally, a comedic actor that is friends with Jon Favreau (the creative mind behind the “Star Wars” series). While speaking at a recent TCA panel (via EW), Pally explained why he took the role and why that role ended up making him a villain to millions of “Star Wars” fans that hated his actions in his scene.
Pally said that Favreau called him up and offered him a super-secret role in “The Mandalorian.” According to the actor, Favreau was looking for “someone to do ‘something special.’”
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“That was the headline I got,” said Pally. “So Jason [Sudekis] and I talked and were like, ‘Yeah, we really want to be part of it.’ It seemed exciting.”
Of course, what he didn’t know is that in the scene that Favreau asked him to be a part of, Pally would have to punch the most beloved new character to arrive in the “Star Wars” mythos in decades — Baby Yoda.
“I remember the first take that I did when I punched him,” he added. ” They called ‘Cut!’ and Jon, who was watching on a monitor in his office, he came down from this office and said, ‘I just want to let you know that this is the hero Yoda [the main prop used for close-ups] and it costs, like, $5 million. So while I want you to hit it, I just want you to know that.’ Because I think I took a big swing at it. And the next three takes I missed because I was so nervous.”
We don’t know for sure if Pally is exaggerating with his words for comedic effect, but if what he says is true, and Baby Yoda actually did cost $5 million, then that’s a good indicator at just how much money Disney is willing to pump into the Lucasfilm machine to make sure it runs smoothly. And in hindsight, given how popular the character has become, we’d venture to guess that Disney would pay 10x that price for the little guy.
Did I say “guy?” Well, I meant little…thing, as we still don’t have confirmation of The Child’s gender. This is something that Taika Waititi is quick to point out in another interview with EW, where the director (who starred in and directed episodes of “The Mandalorian”) continued his publicity tour teasing insider information about Baby Yoda without revealing a single thing.
“I knew that people would be talking about Baby Yoda, but I also know Baby Yoda’s real name,” Waititi said. “So if you’re gonna do me a favor, please stop calling him Baby Yoda. Or is it a her! No one knows!”
No one knows…yet. You see, if there’s one thing that “Star Wars” fans (and filmmakers) love to do more than anything else, it’s to explain the shit out of a character’s origins. So, those answers are most definitely forthcoming.
