The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal recently sat down with Yahoo! to talk about a variety of topics regarding the series. The first season of the series exploded with greatness and restored the excitement in Star Wars fans. One of the most unexpected things introduced in the series was The Child a.k.a Baby Yoda and as we expected, the popularity of this character went crazy!
When talking about Baby Yoda’s popularity, Pascal said:
“I can’t bring myself to lie and be like ‘we had no idea of the sensation that he would be. We never talked about it being a sure thing, but I unconsciously kept to myself that the very first time I saw the image in the illustration during that first meeting, I was like ‘oh my God, people are going to lose their mind over that’.”
Pascal went on to say it was “unbelievable” to see the level of talent that went into making Baby Yoda a reality:
“There’s all the history they bring to it from the other films and from their experiences on other films. You’re among the best and so you just really have to make yourself a passenger to that. To see them care for the doll and also find different ways for it to express itself and become an incredible scene partner is incredibly fascinating. It’s a pretty adorable thing.”
The actor went on to talk about his experience of being cast in the series and how that all went down:
“At the start of this thing, the most secret part of it was the first phone call. They said that Jon Favreau and [executive producer] Dave Filoni wanted to meet me to talk about ‘something Star Wars’. Those were the words.
“So when I went to go and meet Jon, they brought me into a room where the walls were covered, corner to corner, with story illustrations of the whole first season. It was obviously this incredible Star Wars story with a Boba Fett-looking character at the centre of most of it and then, obviously, this adorable, small Baby Yoda.
“All on the same day, they took me to the set where they were doing camera tests. They introduced me to Kathleen Kennedy, they put the helmet on my head and then Jon sent me off with six scripts to look at and to get an idea. I might be getting him in trouble. The studio may not know this.
“This was all to get an idea, to help me consider the project and also, at least from my perspective, for them to consider whose voice they wanted to hear coming from inside that mask. They cast me in the part and as we got closer to launching the first season while shooting the second, it’s now a very practised lockdown on all things to make sure that nothing gets out.
What an incredibly overwhelming and awesome experience that must’ve been! To be Pedro Pascal in that moment on that day must have been amazing! I don’t know how he or anyone else could have turned down the offer to star in the show after that! He went on to talk about what it was like to shoot the series and the challenges that presented themselves:
“There’s like four of us. There are things that I can’t do. There’s a very improvisational way of shooting the show. You kind of discover what’s safe and what’s not on a daily basis. More than anything, I wanted to make sure that there’s at least a basis of a physicality and a physical language that we’re all in understanding with.
“Therefore, an incredible stuntman like Lateef Crowder can bring the part of him that’s agile and dangerous and a looseness of movement from Brendan Wayne. I try to carve out as much as I can a physical language that is conducive to carrying an audience through a scene.
“I would say that’s the greatest challenge. You don’t know if there’s too much stillness like a stiff mannequin or too much movement, so you look like a bobble-head. Then, of course, creating the right kind of vocal energy for every detail to coincide with the story. It’s very obviously a more technical endeavour than anything I’ve ever done. So much so that it’s fascinating.
“Then of course, if you feel like you really don’t know what you’re doing, you know it won’t make a difference. You have all of the greatest experts and the most talented people in the industry in every department. Ultimately, they’re shaping the show. It’s really their show.”
So, what can we expect to see in the upcoming second season? Pascal doesn’t want to spoil it for you! He wants you to have a pure viewing experience like we had when we watched the first season:
“They can expect me to not talk about it at all. Only so they can experience the second season in the same way they experienced the first — that sort of awe and surprise. It’s pretty wonderful.”
I don’t want to say anything. I don’t even want to prepare you for surprises that may or may not be there. Let yourself be as empty a canvas as possible to just experience it.”
Of course, I’m interested in learning some of the story details for Season 2, but at the same time, I’m glad that neither Pascal or anyone else is talking about it! I love that nothing is leaking for the production! That’s a rare thing these days. The Mandalorian Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ this Fall.