Star Wars: Lucasfilm Was Initially “Cautious” About Bringing Baby Yoda to Life in The Mandalorian

This is an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan with big shows such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka on the way as well as the long-awaited third season of The Mandalorian. This week, an epic Vanity Fair spread showcased the future of Star Wars and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy spoke about what’s to come. She was also asked about one of Star Wars’ most popular new characters, Grogu AKA The Child AKA Baby Yoda. During the chat, Kennedy admitted they were cautious about revealing the character back in The Mandalorian‘s first season. 

“No, that was part of it from the beginning,” Kennedy said of the baby Yoda concept. “There’s always some evolution. That character and what it looked like took a bit of time, but that character was something that he had identified right from the beginning. There was a lot of discussion around whether that was something we should or shouldn’t do.” She added, “Yeah, it gave us some pause. But the thing I love about Jon [Favreau] is he’s very definitive. He also gives a lot of thought to what he wants to do. He’s always, always respectful of Star Wars and what it means and not just doing things flippantly. So he and Dave [Filoni] debated that quite ferociously. Both came to the conclusion that—why not? Everybody knows that Yoda is not just a singular being; he is of a species. That could develop into something interesting.”

Kennedy clarified, “Not against. Cautious. Cautious,” when asked about Favreau and Filoni’s debate. “I internalized a lot of the debate they were having. I think what struck me was it was a bold idea. I’m always attracted to that. You could look back and maybe think that was an expected idea-but it wasn’t. Initially, he was just trying to create a character-the Mandalorian is taking care of The Child. That’s the basic concept. It was The Child. What that The Child looked like is what evolved over time. The bold idea that maybe it’s of the species that Yoda is immediately gives you a context and a potential backstory. That’s exciting in Star Wars because all these things need to be connected. That’s what I recognized right away when he was talking about it. Then when we saw it, I mean… come on.”

While Grogu was officially given a name in the second season of The Mandalorian, many people can’t help but still call him Baby Yoda. In fact, Amy Sedaris recently reprised her role of Peli Motto on The Book of Boba Fett and joked about not wanting to call him Grogu. 

Grogu will return in the third season of The Mandalorian later this year.