The Mandalorian and Grogu is one of the most anticipated action films on the 2026 roster. Not only does it expand the ever-evolving universe of Star Wars, but it was also the perfect set-up for a reunion between Pedro Pascal, who plays The Mandalorian, and me, after we unexpectedly went viral over the c-bomb.
Pedro and I first met at the Fantastic Four: First Steps junket in July of last year, for an interview that would quickly go viral and become one of the defining moments of my career.
While chatting to Pedro and his co-star Vanessa Kirby about everything from his love of the trans community to the latest rendition of the superhero flick, I asked the IRL Invisible Woman about what fans online have described as the c*nty face she makes when activating her powers. Not in the C U Next Tuesday sense, but in the modern sense of the word, as popularised by the LGBTQIA+ Black and Latinx Ballroom community and the drag scene.
Before long, it had been picked up globally, landing me on Elon Musk‘s underworld realm known as X, dragging me into unexpected LinkedIn beef, and, eventually, it even got onto Reddit.
Overall, the reception was mixed — with some punters agreeing with the c*ntiness of it all, while for others, the whole thing got lost in translation.
Months later, when Disney started teasing the release of the highly anticipated Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu — a movie off the back of Jon Favreau‘s beloved The Mandalorian series, which shot Grogu (AKA Baby Yoda) into the limelight at lightspeed — I immediately raised my hand.
Not just because I’m a die-hard Star Wars fan, but also because I was keen to sit down with Pedro Pascal once again after what was such an unforgettable experience last year.
Next thing I knew, I was jetting off to interview Pascal, Favreau and Grogu in Tokyo for what was sure to be an intergalactic ki!
Hey Pedro! So great to see you again.
Good to see you too! I missed you from the Fantastic Four press tour. Well, the last time I saw you was yesterday on [The Mandalorian and Grogu] carpet. But that was madness and chaos and cognitive noise.
I was just gonna touch on the fact that Fantastic Four was a bit messy, but that’s just like the Mandalorian’s missions, right?
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Messy in the best way.
I know, they couldn’t handle the conjoint slay that we did.
Exactly, do they have an issue with it?
Oh, you know, I like to look at things positively.
Anyway, we’re jumping right back into the mess!
Let’s just get messy again!
This movie dives deeper into the relationship between Mando and Grogu, and I couldn’t tell you how many times I was kicking my feet and giggling. Were there any relationships in your life that inspired the way that you wanted to portray that closeness between you and Grogu?
I think that Mando, at the centre of it all, is a protector of this child, and his existential issue really is that the child will outlive him by hundreds of years and as much ass-kicking as he’s capable of, it’s really the protective side that motivates everything that he does.
I have that, I am fiercely, fiercely protective of the people that I love in my life. I’m fiercely protective of the things that I believe in, and that’s what Mando is all about.
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Touching on the things you believe in, you’re one of the celebrities who consistently uses their platform to advocate for human rights, which I absolutely admire.
Oh, thank you.
What I love about the Star Wars universe is how much it parallels real life, especially when you look at the Empire. What’s it like seeing those parallels both as Mando and as an advocate in your own life?
Well, George Lucas, aside from pulling from so much Japanese cinema and Joseph Campbell philosophy, I think with the first movies, it’s clearly fighting good against evil and the evil empire, just decades after our Second World War. So all of these stories and these big adventures, and these thrill ride, big screen experiences at the centre are like a story about fighting for good and protecting the innocent, and that’s a value system that, in a cathartic way of experiencing storytelling, and so yeah, man. I know that I have an entire value system based on having gone to the movies my entire life, and that’s always been for fighting for what I believe is right, and for fighting for those who need protecting.
Jeremy Allen White, another Hollywood heartthrob, is jumping in as Rotta the Hutt, and I did tell Jon [Favreau] I found him a little bit handsome.
People are all of a sudden crushing on Jabba!
I know! I was like, ‘Oh, this is controversial’. What was it like? And correct me if I’m wrong, he did provide the voice only. So you kind of had to act it out. What was it like having to bring that to life on screen?
Jon has invited me into the start of the process from each season, and of course, the movie, so it is this incredible experience of coming in very early, before Jeremy’s even cast, and laying down the dialogue, being on set when he needs me to be, wants me to be and then, of course, getting to see everyone’s work in post [production] and do all of this sort of like surgical adjusting, and collaborating with Jon.
Jeremy’s a good friend, and his work is just — I admire him as an actor as much as I do the people that have kind of guided me since I was young, and I just look forward to getting to do something where we’re actually, I don’t want to do any fighting. I don’t want to fight with him as we do in this movie.
Maybe like a Heated Rivalry situation?
Maybe a Heated Rivalry would be great. Although that’s like a sport, they fight each other, don’t they? They’re skating around and kicking the sh*t out of each other. No, I just want to chill, [like a] road trip.
Oh yeah! I can see that.
Without night shoots!
Okay, yeah, I approve. Who do we speak to about that?
Seriously, it’s out there. Come on! Somebody develop it.
I’ll cut this up, so make sure that’s the viral part.
You have a part in so many different franchises, you’re in Marvel, Game of Thrones, and, obviously, Star Wars — the best one in my opinion. What is the most memorable fan interaction you’ve had?
Well, I’ve always come down to the same one every time, because I’ve told this story so many times. But nothing can compare to what it was like for me for the first time to start getting recognised on a bigger scale for Obern Martell and Game of Thrones, and literally have strangers ask me if they could stick their thumbs in my eyes for a selfie, meaning like basically gouge my eyes out, which I was game for quite some time, really, for years.
Now other franchises have taken over, and people are no longer asking to gouge my eyes out for a picture.
Do you miss it?
I always miss the past, even the hard times. You miss them even in periods where you’re just like, ‘How do I get out of this chapter of my life? Will I get to the other side of this particular hardship?’, and then you look back, and you find things that you miss. So yeah, I miss it.
Just, I’m going to keep my glasses on for these selfies. If they happen again!
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is out now.
