Star Wars: The Mandalorian Actor Warned Not to Punch Baby Yoda Too Hard

Star Wars: The Mandalorian holds a lot of surprises in that final episode, but viewers got the wrong kind of surprise when one of the stormtroopers tracking Baby Yoda punches the little guy. Adam Pally and Jason Sudeikis were the ones in the costumes and now they’re sharing what Jon Favreau had to say as a warning before filming that scene. During the Television Critics Association press tour for NBC sitcom Indebted, Pally shared those fateful words. The Child was basically the centerpiece of that first season of The Mandalorian. The Disney+ series ended up being the first huge smash hit for the platform, due in large part to Baby Yoda. So, it should come as no real surprise that the two actors should be exercising some caution.

“I remember the first take that I did when I punched it…,” Pally said at TCA. “They called ‘cut’ and Jon, who was watching on a monitor in his office, came down and said, “‘I just want to let you know that this is the hero [expensive puppet] and it costs, like, $5 million. I want you to hit it, but I want you to know that.’”

The actor then joked with the reporters present that he whiffed on the next three takes because of the increased pressure not to mess up. But, that scrutiny is nothing compared to how the entire Internet came down on he and Sudeikis after it was discovered that they were responsible for the entire thing. The comedian’s Wikipedia page got edited to reflect the act of violence and his former comedy troupe stepped in to absolve themselves of any blame.

The Second City wrote on their Twitter account, “The Second City does not condone the punching of Baby Yoda by alumnus Jason Sudeikis. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time. #TheMandalorian.”

Still, the question that gets asked the most about The Mandalorian is how did all these actors manage to keep Baby Yoda a secret. Well, Pally told the people present at TCA that it wasn’t exactly easy. “It was very hard to keep it a secret,” Pally joked. “The truth is that Baby Yoda is a bit of a diva. Just constantly vaping”

Luckily for people watching at home, there is going to be a second season of The Mandalorian coming their way next year. They might have to wait a while for the continued adventures of Mando and The Child, but if this first season has taught the fanbase anything, it is that sometimes the best surprises are the ones you don’t expect.

Additional reporting by Scott Huver.