Step Aside, Grogu—'Ahsoka' Cast on 'Star Wars' New Cutest Character

According to the cast of Disney+’s Ahsoka, Grogu might have some competition.

The highly-anticipated Star Wars spinoff series, Ahsoka, is set to arrive on the streaming platform this fall. Helmed by longtime Star Wars creative, Dave Filoni, the show will see the eponymous ex-Jedi teaming up with the crew of the starship Ghost, first introduced in the animated Star Wars Rebels, to face off against a particularly dangerous threat: Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).

Watch the official trailer for Disney+’s Ahsoka below:

Ahead of its release, three of its leading ladies, Rosario Dawson, who plays the titular hero, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Rebel starpilot Hera Syndulla, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who’s bringing Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren to live-action, gushed over one of their castmates—and it’s not who you’d expect.

Speaking with Empire Magazine, the cast were enamored by their adorable feline friend, the Loth-cat that Sabine is seen hanging out with at the beginning of the Ahsoka trailer.

Native to the planet Lothal, the furry creatures were often seen in Rebels, and will apparently play a part in the adventures of Ahsoka Tano and the Ghost crew in the new series. While the Loth-cat might look like the result of some cleverly-crafted CGI, it’s actually a puppet created by the animatronics team at Legacy Effects, similar to Grogu.

Winstead had high praise for the effects team when it came to creating the Loth-cat, telling Empire with near child-like wonder, “It was real, it was there!” Dawson added, “It would snarl and look cute! Really, the detail was next-level.”

Bordizzo also had some strong words for her fluffy companion, hinting at a full-on cuteness “war” with baby Grogu:

That was my little buddy! That cat, the complexity of the design… I mean, it has a real skeleton under there, because that’s how they control such intense facial expressions and everything. Move over Grogu!

Star Wars is no stranger to adorable creatures, from the small, furry Ewoks introduced in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) to the charming, sea-dwelling Porg first seen in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017). But live-action Loth-cats might take the cake for the most cuddle-worthy of them all.

While Grogu will always have a special place in our hearts, there’s no denying that Loth-cats are some of the cutest additions to the galaxy far, far away—though it’s highly doubtful that they could dethrone Grogu anytime soon.

Are you excited to see Loth-cats in action in the upcoming Ahsoka show? Let us know in the comments below.