Jon Favreau Explains Why Lizzo and Jack Black Appeared In 'The Mandalorian'

"The Mandalorian" showrunner Jon Favreau is finally ready to explain why Lizzo and Jack Black appeared in the Disney+ live-action "Star Wars" series.

Although their cameo appearance divided many fans, Favreau revealed that there was a specific reason that he decided to include the two pop culture icons in a galaxy far, far away.

In the sixth episode of season three of "The Mandalorian," fans were surprised to see that Lizzo and Jack Black starred as the rulers of a new planet called Plazir-15. Lizzo played the Dutchess, while Black played Captain Bombardier, a former Imperial officer who fell in love with the Dutchess after visiting the planet.

Only a few days after the episode aired, fans flocked to London for the annual Star Wars Celebration fan event, which took place from April 7 to April 10 this year. At the event, Entertainment Weekly asked Jon Favreau exactly why he decided to include Lizzo and Jack Black in the series.

Favreau explained that both Lizzo and Black were fans of the show. Lizzo famously dressed up as Grogu for Halloween two years ago and Black has been posting about "The Mandalorian" on social media.

"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," Favreau explained, adding that their social media presence caught his attention.

"Lizzo and Jack Black both were very active on social media," he continued. "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."

Although Favreau knew that he had to get both pop culture icons into the show, he explained that he had to figure out which roles would be right for them. "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," he recalled. "And we reached out and they were like, 'We'd love to!'"

In the show, the Dutchess is absolutely taken with Grogu and the feeling seems to be mutual. After Grogu helps her cheat at a game of space bocce, the Dutchess knights him, not with a lightsaber, but with a real metal sword.

Lizzo, who has been a big fan of Grou for years, was just as excited to meet the animatronic puppet in real life. "There's something really fun about being on the set with people who are excited to meet Grogu," Favreau explained. "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," he added. "It was a blast on set."

Although their cameo appearance divided fans, there was one actress who was more than happy to see them there. Katee Sackhoff, who plays Bo-Katan Kryze, couldn't stop smiling when she watched Lizzo and Black interact with the animated puppet.

"Thankfully, we got to a certain point where Bo was also amused by them," Sackhoff joked. "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."

"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," Sackhoff recalled. "The first time she saw him, I swear she had a tear in her eyes she was so excited to meet Grogu."

Even executive producer Rick Famuyiwa agreed that that the two royal rulers "brought out a different side of Bo," adding, "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," he added. "And so it's great that there are so many people who love Star Wars and love the show."

For Lizzo, she has been a fan of "Star Wars" ever since she was a child and her father introduced her to the franchise. It was a story that she was not shy about sharing with her costars.

"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," Sackhoff explained. "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."

On Twitter, Lizzo shared a few photos of her time on set and let her followers know that her father was the one who had introduced her to a galaxy far, far away. She wrote, “As a kid my dad showed me Star Wars like a rite of passage. When I got the role of The Dutchess I cried all day."

"Dad I wish u were here to see this!” she added. “Thanks to everyone in the Galaxy I am now part of the ever-expanding saga of the stars.”

She closed off the tweet with the signature Mandalorian phrase “This is the Way” before adding the well-known “May the Force be with U.”

"The Mandalorian" is available to stream on Disney+. New episodes are released each Wednesday.