‘Mandalorian’ star Pedro Pascal, creator of new Grogu reveals and ‘Last of Us’ comparisons

Pedro Pascal admits that all expectations of the success so far have been exceeded The Mandalorianthe extremely popular one war of stars Spin-off that spawned “Baby Yoda” — and in turn, attracted hordes of subscribers to what, in 2019, was just a small child of a streaming service, Disney+.

“But it’s not really a surprise either,” Pascal tells us at a press festival in Los Angeles this week, where he was joined by the co-creators of the series he credits. “Because it was so clear to me that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni knew what they were doing and put their hearts into it. As are the hundreds of crew members, cast and everyone behind the show. So that level of dedication is exactly why people get to see such a wonderful show.”

After two stellar seasons — including a smashing season two finale highlighted by an appearance from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) — and some cooptation of its most recent sibling series Boba Fett’s book, The Mandalorian‘s third run came Wednesday with momentum in hyperdrive.

The question now is how this season, which follows Pascal’s grogu-protecting, rule-breaking bounty hunter Din Djarin back to his home planet of Mandalore to do some damage control in the Outer Rim, will continue to ride that wave?

“It [began] like this lone gunman on his way,” says Filoni. “And now Mando’s own world has grown because he cares so much about this little kid. And along the way, he made more and more friends. His world wasn’t like this when he started the series. he was alone And it affects his whole life. And so I think there’s a lesson in opening up to this kid, like opening up to so many allies and the world around him.”

The fans are excited to see how much Filoni, Favreau and Co. will tell about this child. In Season 1, we were introduced to—and instantly fell in love with—the aggressively endearing creature who was immediately (albeit unofficially) dubbed Baby Yoda. And later, like Yoda, The Force is strong with him. In season 2 we learned his real name, Grogu. But the devilishly flattered character still remains largely a mystery.

The story goes on

Will we ever find out if he’s related to Yoda? And what is your species called? Will there continue to be big revelations about him in Season 3?

“I think as [Din] learn more, we learn more,” says Favreau. “Just like we did with the main character of The Mandalorian, we showed little flashbacks as he sat next to the armor and was guided through a reverie of memories of his early childhood and what he experienced and how he became a part of the Mandalorians. I think there’s an echo, a harmony with Baby Yoda’s past. Grogu also had a really tough start, seeing things that scared him to the point that he can’t remember things very well. And as he begins to learn, we learn with him what he went through.”

What Pascal is going through right now is what you would call “a moment”.

Between The Mandalorian Return and HBO’s new hit dystopian video game adaptation The last of us, the 47-year-old Chilean-born actor, is now the headline act on what are arguably two of the hottest shows on TV. (He would prefer if you didn’t say he “owns” them.) He was also a host the funniest episode of Saturday night live so far this season.

The comparisons between Mandalorian And last of us (in which Pascal’s Joel rescues another surrogate, Bella Ramsey’s Ellie). ubiquitous on social media.

“He’s become like the definitive father figure in Dystopic [stories]'” Favreau laughs. “Warrior father.”

Pascal says: “The image of protector and protected, father and child, parent and child, is not entirely new to any of us. So I think both shows take other sources in the most beautiful way and then give them their own originality. It’s so often that I see so much Ridley Scott in a lot of things that Jon and Dave work with The Mandalorian. And I see that Neil Druckmann’s game, released in 2013, drew so much inspiration from the aftermath. So it’s just this interesting synchronicity and influence that I didn’t even know I was among.”

But does it feel like he’s cheating on Grogu now?

“I feel like if Grogu and Ellie got together they would dump me,” he says. “And be like, ‘Bye, besties.'”

The Mandalorian Season 3 is now streaming on Disney+.

Watch the trailer: