Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian’s first episode!
The Client was right: bounty hunting really is a complicated profession. And fans need look no further than The Mandalorian’s first episode for proof. Viewers couldn’t see his face, but the title character undoubtedly shared the audience’s shock after he and IG-11 fought their way through the Arvala-7 stronghold only to learn that their 50-year-old target was actually an alien infant. Even more surprising was that the baby clearly belongs to the same unknown species as Yoda.
While speaking with Variety (via Collider), showrunner Jon Favreau teased the infant’s role throughout The Mandalorian’s inaugural season. Apparently, he or she will somehow answer questions about the show’s post-Return of the Jedi world.
“I wanted to surprise people, and I wanted to—well there are bigger arcs that go through the whole season and the whole throw of the show,” said Favreau. “So as fun as it is to reveal new characters and surprise them, it also fits into a larger narrative about what’s going on in the galaxy after the revolution, and this is an important character.”
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It’s anyone’s guess at this point what Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian plans to do with the baby. Given that on-the-nose E.T. homage, it doesn’t seem likely that he’s bringing him to Werner Herzog’s Client anytime soon. However, it goes without saying that the reveal definitely got Disney+ subscribers hyped for the next chapter.
“What I’m most proud of is that we surprised people,” added Favreau. “You know how hard that is to do that nowadays? And what type of commitment it took from everybody who was on set and from the studio to hide all the clues that people, especially Star Wars fans, normally tap into? Looking into toy catalogues, looking into marketing materials, looking into style guides, photography, and the fact that that secret was kept is incredible. It is exciting. It’s fun, because people are so happy when they’re surprised. They’re not used to being surprised now—not in a good way [laughs].”
The Mandalorian’s second episode will premiere tomorrow on Disney+. Do you have any theories about how the infant fits into the season’s story? Let us know in the comment section below!
