Baby Yoda cost millions to make, says the actor who punched him
The price of cuteness is steep
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Baby Yodawas the star ofThe Mandalorian, an adorable creation that managed to singlehandedly overshadow the release ofThe 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 withEntertainment 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 tohitit, I just want you toknowthat.’ Because I think I took a big swing at it. And the next three takes I missed, because I was so nervous.”
Yoda stories
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 majorDisney Plusoriginal 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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Samuel is a PR Manager at game developer Frontier. Formerly TechRadar’s Senior Entertainment Editor, he’s an expert in Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix shows and general streaming stuff. Before his stint at TechRadar, he spent six years at PC Gamer. Samuel is also the co-host of the popular Back Page podcast, in which he details the trials and tribulations of being a games magazine editor – and attempts to justify his impulsive eBay games buying binges.
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