Sasha Banks reveals how she went from WWE wrestler to Mandalorian star

Fans finally got to see Sasha Banks in The Mandalorian, and now she’s recalling how she was cast.

In the latest episode of The Mandalorian, season 2 episode 3, “The Heiress,” fans who had long waited for pro wrestler Sasha Banks’ appearance in the series finally got that opportunity. We saw Banks as one of the Mandalorians who came to Mando’s rescue when he desperately needed help the most. And he and the rest of the Mandalorians pulled off an epic infiltration of an Imperial ship.

So, just how did Sasha Banks go from being a WWE wrestler to a Mandalorian star? We’ve seen a few pro wrestlers go from being stars in the ring to stars on camera, most notably with Dwayne Johnson and John Cena. So Banks has an easy path ahead of her if she wants to continue her on-screen roles. And luckily, with the help of top people like Jon Favreau, that can become a reality.

In an interview with Variety, Banks explained how it was Favreau who reached out to her about being in The Mandalorian. And, according to her, her WWE performance wasn’t the only thing that convinced him to bring her on. Here’s what she had to say:

"So Jon Favreau came to me because he watched an interview that I did with Hot Ones. And he really liked me and got my contact information. Then on FaceTime he asked me to be part of The Mandalorian. I was like, ‘Well, I cannot say no,’ but I was so incredibly nervous because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it with the WWE schedule. You know, we used to travel a lot. But they made it work and everything happened. And it was such an incredible episode. I still just can’t get over how awesome that was. Not only to be part of Star Wars, but one of legit the greatest episodes in the history of television like that. I could watch that all the time. That was such a badass introduction to the world of Star Wars. I’m so thankful I saved Baby Yoda! I cannot get over it. Oh my god."

We’re happy that Banks did end up finding the time in her schedule to film her scenes in The Mandalorian. In the interview, though, Banks did say she experienced some nervousness when it came to being part of a franchise as big as Star Wars. But she attributed a lot of her help of getting acclimated to it all to Favreau, executive producer Dave Filoni, and episode director Bryce Dallas Howard.

“She really, really guided me and really took me by my hand because like I said, I was so nervous,” she said of Howard’s directing. “She texted me to make sure I [was] all good. She walked me through everything if I had any questions. She was there for me. So it was so special to see. And I was just really inspired by her and how she treated everybody. She was so down to earth.”

The good thing about Sasha Banks accepting this type of role is that she could come back at any point as the story continues. The story about Bo-Katan’s search for the Darksaber certainly isn’t over. And if Mando will, at some point, go to Mandalore, it’ll be good to have a familiar Mandalorian crew with him.

Do you hope to see more of Sasha Banks in The Mandalorian? Let us know in the comments!