The Mandalorian: Dave Filoni Admits He Opposed Baby Yoda

In all the time Star Wars films and television shows have seen release, few characters have been as popular as Grogu, the beloved Force-sensitive alien better known to most as Baby Yoda. Though Baby Yoda has become a smash hit and now lives in the pop culture zeitgeist, not everyone was on board with the character from the leap. In fact, one of the Star Wars world’s primary architects now says he initially thought the idea was a little too far out there.

During the new behind-the-scenes documentary Disney Gallery – Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Three, Dave Filoni said he thought Baby Yoda was initially a bad idea. “You know, like in season one, Jon wants to make a Baby Yoda. I’m like, ‘What? Why? Why would we do this? That sounds like not a good idea,’” Filoni said in the doc.

He added, “But, you put that initial fear aside and you say, ‘Okay, well, let’s really examine this.’ And I was like, ‘Jon, if you’re gonna do this, I’m gonna be there with you. ‘Cause I know Yoda’s one of George’s favorite characters and we cannot mess this up.’”

Now through three seasons of The Mandalorian, Filoni has turned his eyes to Ahsoka, a series based on a character Filoni created for Lucasfilm’s previous animated efforts. The character’s also appeared in live-action thanks to Rosario Dawson between the events of The Mandalorian Seasons Two and Three.

Dawson leads the cast of Ahsoka as the titular character, reprising the role from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Key characters from Star Wars Rebels will be making their way to the world of live-action with this series, as Mary Elizabeth Winstead takes on the role of Hera Syndulla, Natasha Liu Bordizzo plays Sabine Wren, and Eman Esfandi appears as Ezra Bridger. Lars Mikkelsen will play the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn, after having lent his voice to the character in the animated shows.

Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, premiering in August on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu. Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm’s creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.