There is little doubt that The Mandalorian Season 2 gave us yet another awesome surprise at the end of the first episode. However, it doesn't exactly top last year's jaw-dropping revelation. So how exactly did creator Jon Favreau manage to keep Baby Yoda a secret up until last year's premiere? Interestingly, the filmmaker claims that Star Wars creator George Lucas was the real inspiration.
Favreau recently took part in The Mandalorian Season 2's virtual red carpet event where he admitted that Lucas' love for cliffhangers inspired him to leave the Baby Yoda reveal to the very end of Chapter One.
"George drew from the cliffhanger. That's what he grew up with," Favreau stated. "A cliffhanger doesn't always have to be an action cliffhanger. It could be a character cliffhanger, an emotional cliffhanger, and that's what creates that compelling relationship that I, as an audience member, appreciate the most."
But how to make sure that surprise reveal never gets leaked? Favreau confessed it wasn't easy since "secrecy is very hard to come by in Star Wars." Luckily, the filmmaker had a truly reliable crew who kept quiet about what they knew.
"A lot of people did know, and nobody said anything about it, and so we're very grateful for that," Favreau stated. "But when it all came together, and the episode premiered, and nobody had known... we were all biting our nails for a year on that one. And sure enough, it came out, and it got a reaction. More than we could have ever hoped for."
We're truly grateful for the Baby Yoda surprise and hopefully, we'll get another similar reveal in The Mandalorian Season 2.
Related: The Mandalorian Actor Teases Cara Dune and Greef Karga's Bigger Role in Season 2