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The Mandalorian's Success Has Exceeded Pedro Pascal's Expectations
The runaway success of The Mandalorian has even shocked the show's leading man, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent star Pedro Pascal. The Mandalorian was not only the first live-action Star Wars project to come amid the release of 2019's film The Rise of Skywalker, which ended the long-running Skywalker Saga. It was also the flagship program for Disney+, premiering on the streaming service the very day it launched on November 12, 2019, before it was able to debut any of its other big shows, a list that would later include Marvel Cinematic Universe programs like WandaVision and Ms. Marvel.
On The Mandalorian, Pascal stars as Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, who is bound by the code of his people to never remove his battle helmet. During the political turmoil following the defeat of the Empire, he is tasked with bringing a target to be imprisoned by imperial sympathizers. Although the target is 40 years old, he learns that it is still a baby (later revealed to be named Grogu, but known online as Baby Yoda) because its species ages much slower than most. This begins a long series of adventures where the hardened Djarin bonds with Grogu, working hard to protect him and help him find his people.
EW recently released a one-on-one interview they performed with Pascal shortly after Star Wars Celebration, which took place in Anaheim earlier this year. During the conversation, the actor expresses his shock at how well The Mandalorian has performed. Though he had faith in creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, he questioned whether the character would resonate with audiences. Read his full quote below:
Quote:
I think it was so easy to trust how much Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni love Star Wars and [how they're] taking that love and developing new ways of telling Star Wars stories. That's a big safety net. But there were things, like, will this character be compelling? Will people want to follow him through these adventures? Will the richness of this parent-child relationship really reach everyone? So to see all of that surpass expectation is really exciting.
The fact that Disney+ gave The Mandalorian pride of place on launch day reveals the fact that they had faith in the project. However, it can't be denied that it was something of a gamble. When fans heard that Disney+ was creating a show about a Mandalorian bounty hunter, the common assumption was that it would be a Boba Fett show. Although The Book of Boba Fett was eventually produced, there was initial disappointment surrounding the fact that The Mandalorian would introduce a brand new bounty hunter with a similar look rather than focus on a popular figure.
There were likely many people who approached The Mandalorian expecting to be disappointed. However, the power of Mando's relationship with Grogu (along with the pure cuteness of Grogu's character design) quickly changed hearts and minds. However, it makes sense that Pascal had his doubts, especially considering the fact that Disney hasn't banked on any other original characters in their current slate of shows, which includes telling new stories around already iconic characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano. In many ways, The Mandalorian remains a happy surprise, and that's true even with the man behind the helmet.
