The inside story of how Lizzo ended up on The Mandalorian
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It was bad bitch o'clock on the most recent episode of The Mandalorian, when fans were surprised to see none other than Lizzo and Jack Black guest starring as the Duchess and Captain Bombardier — super-stylish planetary leaders of Plazir-15. The on-screen married couple enlisted Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) and Din (Pedro Pascal) to help with their malfunctioning droid problem, and looked good as hell doing so.
But how did these two superstars make their way to a galaxy far, far away? It turns out Jon Favreau's kids are to thank. The series creator talked to EW at Star Wars Celebration about why and how the pair entered Mando's orbit.
"We got Lizzo and Jack Black involved because, honestly, one of the things that we really like about working on the show is we like to bring in people who are fans themselves," explains Favreau. "And Lizzo and Jack Black both were very active on social media. I know Jack from way back, but he was posting and doing Mandalorian things on either Instagram or TikTok. And Lizzo was dressing up like Grogu. And my kids were showing me all these videos of how into it Lizzo was."
Lucasfilm Ltd. Lizzo and Jack Black on 'The Mandalorian'
The next step was finding the right roles for the celebrity fans. "As we were figuring it out, we had an episode that was going to have this really eccentric royal couple in a court that felt like something out of Alice in Wonderland. And we reached out and they were like, 'We'd love to!'"
Having Lizzo's Duchess be obsessed with Grogu added to the meta art-imitating-life-imitating-art angle of the entire affair.
"There's something really fun about being on the set with people who are excited to meet Grogu," says Favreau. "It's a puppet, but it's animatronic and you'll have, like, five people off to the side, but it's radio controlled and, when people hold that little puppet, it's like they're dealing with a real character. So it was really fun and exciting on the set. A lot of pretty heavy, serious stuff happens this season, so this planet that we went to gave us permission to have a lot of fun with it. It was a blast on set."
It was especially a blast for the person who interacted the most with the guest-stars, Sackhoff's Bo-Katan. "Thankfully, we got to a certain point where Bo was also amused by them," says Sackhoff. "She had a smile on her face the whole time, because sitting there with a straight face is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. And thankfully, I was able to lean into that amusement, as well as Bo."
Lucasfilm Ltd. Lizzo and Jack Black on 'The Mandalorian'
Sackhoff also had a bit of a flashback while watching Lizzo fangirl over what Werner Herzog's the Client once dubbed "the baby." "Watching her on set with Grogu was one of the funniest things, because I feel like I was watching myself back for the first time, because she was so excited. The first time she saw him, I swear she had a tear in her eyes she was so excited to meet Grogu."
"They brought out a different side of Bo," agrees executive producer Rick Famuyiwa. "Lizzo has that magical effect. Even when we first met with her, we did a Zoom and her whole window was filled with Grogus everywhere. She was so excited about being a part of this. The thing that brings all of us together is just the excitement about Star Wars, and I think both Lizzo and Jack Black have been fans of the show and fans of Star Wars forever. And so it's great that there are so many people who love Star Wars and love the show."
Like many people, it seems Lizzo's Star Wars love was passed down from the previous generation. "Listening to her story about how her father introduced her to Star Wars, there are so many common stories about how Star Wars came into people's lives," says Sackhoff. "And it's just that common ground again. We're all fans, and how it came into someone's life is always so fun, and she's no different."
Only this fan now has a new BFF in Grogu.
Watch Favreau, Sackhoff, and Famuyiwa talk all about the celebrity guest stars in the video above.
For exclusive interviews with the cast and producers of The Mandalorian as well as full episode breakdowns and all things Star Wars, listen to EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast.
