Star Wars: The Mandalorian’s Emily Swallow Wanted to Snuggle Baby Yoda

Star Wars: The Mandalorian fans have wanted to cuddle with “Baby Yoda” from the moment we saw him in the series premiere, with the pint-sized hero evoking a similar reaction in those who experienced him on the set, as actress Emily Swallow recently revealed how much she wanted to snuggle with the puppet when she saw him. Thanks to the magic of Lucasfilm, the character came to life in the series’ first season to not only look adorable, but also acted just as cute, making viewers envious that the series’ cast and crew got to hang out with the puppet on location.

“I didn’t get to play with it, but the first time I saw it … you know that you’re looking at a puppet, but that doesn’t compute with your brain because it’s just so adorable,” Swallow revealed to MEAWW. “So I was thrilled when they brought him in that little bag for the scene that I got to have with it. I just wanted to snuggle it.”

Of the many exciting things the series’ debut season offered audiences, it was hard to avoid the charm of the character, as memes about him dominated social media in the months since his debut, managing to even capture the hearts of people had never seen anything related to Star Wars. Creating such an endearing character came at a price, with Adam Pally, who had a cameo in the series, recalling an anecdote in which series creator Jon Favreau teased the massive price tag for the puppet.

“I remember the first take that I did when I punched it…,” Pally revealed at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour event. “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.’”

Despite getting himself into a number of dangerous situations, Baby Yoda, whose real name and backstory is unknown to audiences at this time, managed to end the season relatively unscathed, with the upcoming season likely to see more adventures between the character and the titular hero.

The first season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+ with the second season set to debut this fall.

What did you think of Baby Yoda? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!