Credit: LucasfilmFrom the moment Star Wars fans first saw “Baby Yoda” — who we now know is named Grogu thanks to Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”) — they’ve been enamored of the tiny foundling who was (at first begrudgingly) taken in by stoic bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal).
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Long before The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode (“Chapter 16: The Rescue”) — in which Djarin and his “son” were separated when Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill) swooped in with his X-wing to rescue the duo and Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) from certain doom onboard Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) Imperial starcruiser — Star Wars creator George Lucas got the chance to “meet” Grogu.
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Lucas, who famously sold Lucasfilm, Ltd. to The Walt Disney Company in 2012 for a cool $4 billion, has kept details of Grand Master Yoda (Frank Oz) and Yaddle’s species under wraps for four decades. And, as it turns out, he had one key concern when it came to “Baby Yoda” existing in the Star Wars universe.
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In the new book, “The Art of The Mandalorian: Season 2,” Mandalorian Executive Producer and Lucasfilm Executive Creative Director Dave Filoni shared:
“I had a talk with George, at one point, about The Child, and his main concern was that the kid has to have a proper amount of training…”
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Now, throughout two seasons of The Mandalorian and one season of spinoff The Book of Boba Fett, it has become apparent that Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau and Filoni took Lucas’s feelings to heart.
In Filoni’s own Book of Boba Fett, Episode 6 (“Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger”), Grogu’s Jedi training with Skywalker is heavily documented — at least before the 50-year-old infant chooses Mandalorian beskar armor over Yoda’s lightsaber, ultimately reuniting with his “father” ahead of The Mandalorian Season 3.
As the “Mando-Verse” moves forward with the third season of its cornerstone series and live-action Rebels sequel, Ahsoka, fans can expect more of Lucas’s influence to be present.
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As Lucasfilm artist Doug Chiang wrote in the foreward of the new addition to “The Art of The Mandalorian” series:
“So, what makes a strong Star Wars design? The guidelines established by George Lucas are simple: Design as if a child could draw it. Design for the silhouette. Design for the iconic logo. Keep it simple. Give it personality and make it believable.”
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At this time, The Mandalorian Season 3 does not have an official release date, but rumors indicate it will hit Disney+ in December 2022.
What do you think about George Lucas’s biggest concern with Grogu?