Pedro Pascal felt the full force of his emotions during the Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu panel at CCXP Mexico.
The Chilean-born actor joined director Jon Favreau as unannounced guests at the event in Mexico City on Sunday ahead of Disney releasing their film May 22. Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White also star in the movie that marks the first theatrical release for a feature from the Star Wars franchise since 2019.
Pascal explained that it was meaningful for him to have the project hit the big screen after he originated his titular character on the streaming series The Mandalorian. The show premiered on Disney+ back in 2019.
“As soon as I saw this, I knew that it would be a new authorship of a streaming experience,” the actor said about the series that was last seen with 2023’s season three finale. “But I always had a dream in my heart that it would be on a big screen because that’s how I was developed as a child. I went to the movie theater so much with my family, and I saw the Star Wars movies on the big screen.”
After then sharing some words in Spanish, Pascal became visibly emotional and paused to push back tears. This led to a big cheer from the crowd as attendees started cheering his name. After again addressing the audience in Spanish, the actor blew a kiss to the fans. Video from the moment can be seen below.
For Favreau, it was important that the film expand the series’ story while still feeling accessible for the uninitiated. The Mandalorian and Grogu centers on Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pascal) and young apprentice Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, as they help defend the New Republic. Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Ian Bryce and Dave Filoni serve as producers on the feature that has a script from Favreau, Filoni and Noah Kloor.
“We wanted to introduce these characters to a new audience,” Favreau said. “But for the fans who have been there forever, like [this crowd], we wanted to evolve the relationship. It’s not no longer about the Mandalorian rescuing Grogu. Now Grogu has leveled up. He’s a Mandalorian apprentice. He’s studying under Luke Skywalker. He’s coming into his own, and now he’s discovering and unleashing his abilities.”
The panel, which included an appearance from Grogu himself, concluded with a screening of the movie’s opening footage.
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