Although it boasted actors such as Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), Deadpool’s Gina Carano, and Rocky’s Carl Weathers, the most expensive performer on The Mandalorian may have been the show’s breakout star: Baby Yoda.
This news comes from guest star Adam Pally (Happy Endings, Indebted), a huge Star Wars fan who played one of the speeder bike troopers in the season finale. “I remember the first take that I did when I punched him,” Pally told Entertainment Weekly. “They called ‘Cut!’”
"[Showrunner] Jon [Favreau], 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.’"
Expensive, Baby Yoda is.
Jason Sudeikis and Adam Pally are Scout Troopers in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Perhaps Favreau was exaggerating a bit — in fact, we’re sure he was — but in the moment, Pally Favreau’s comment got in Pally’s head. “I think I took a big swing at it. And the next three takes I missed, because I was so nervous.”
Thank goodness Pally and Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis, who played the other Stormtrooper, were masked — otherwise I can only imagine the hate they would get from furious Baby Yoda fans online. No one treats Baby Yoda like that!
Anyway, if Walt Disney was somehow strapped for cash (I know that’s an impossible thought but just go with it), they could have just picked up a Baby Yoda plush toy from their local Hot Topic. Just a suggestion.
Stage fright aside, Pally echoed other Mandalorian cast members when talking about how tricky it was to work with Baby Yoda on set. “I gotta tell you, the truth is that Baby Yoda is a bit of a diva. He’s constantly vaping.”
We expect Baby Yoda’s salary to go way up for season 2.
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h/t Digital Spy