Baby Yoda was the star of The Mandalorian, an adorable creation that managed to singlehandedly overshadow the release of The Rise of Skywalker (Episode 9's little alien Babu Frik never stood a chance). A puppet that impressive doesn't come cheap, though, and in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actor Adam Pally mentioned what may be Baby Yoda's price: $5 million.
If you've seen all of The Mandalorian, Pally turns up in Chapter 8's memorable opening sequence, which features two scout troopers talking about the villain Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). Pally plays the scout trooper who punches Baby Yoda while he's stored in a bag, a moment which caused a lot of concern for the fictional alien on social media.
Pally talked about what it was like to give Baby Yoda a thump.
"I remember the first take that I did when I punched him," Pally told EW. "They called 'Cut!' and Jon [Favreau, The Mandalorian's creator], 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."
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It's possible this price is an exaggeration by Favreau, or even just incorrect, but The Mandalorian clearly had a big budget as the first major Disney Plus original series, and it's clear that some serious technical innovation went into Baby Yoda's realistic appearance. "I gotta tell you, the truth is that Baby Yoda is a bit of a diva," joked Pally about his adorable co-star – adding that the little green scamp is "constantly vaping".
The Mandalorian's second season arrives in late 2020, and will hopefully feature more Baby Yoda than we're emotionally equipped to handle.
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