Grogu

• 1. Introduction

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  Grogu is a small green infant from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Once, a puppet of him made an actor plead with the show's filmmakers. Dave Filoni began to remove the puppet from a scene, planning an alternate take that could use digital effects instead. Werner Herzog, who plays a character known as the Client, passionately objected. He said: "You are cowards. Leave it. Leave it." Herzog wanted the physical puppet in front of the camera, not a digital creation. That outburst raises a handful of questions. What makes a small puppet so hard to part with? Who is this child meant to be, and where did he come from? And what happens to a story when the whole internet wants a piece of its smallest character?

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• 2. Yoda's Mystery

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  In 2012, the Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm, and Jon Favreau began to imagine making a Star Wars project of his own. He was especially curious about the years after the original trilogy. He also wanted to probe the mystery around Yoda and his species. Yoda finishes his journey in Return of the Jedi, released in 1983. Favreau wanted to meet a member of that species at the very start of a journey instead. He believed the mystery George Lucas had deliberately kept around Yoda's origins would carry over to a new character. As he put it: "I think that's why people are so curious about this little one of the same species."

  In mid-2017, shortly after Favreau pitched The Mandalorian to Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, she suggested he meet Dave Filoni. Filoni had co-created several Star Wars animated series, and he was cautious about the idea. He noted that the species had appeared only through Yoda and, in the prequels, Yaddle on the Jedi Council. He called it "kind of a sacred thing" and said storytellers had to be responsible with it.

  During their early conversations, Filoni drew a rough sketch of the character on cocktail napkins. Several artists then refined his image. The definitive look came from a concept drawing by Christian Alzmann, which showed the character's makeshift garment. Favreau said the drawing looked cute but also a little weird, and that the weirdness belonged to Yoda. In his words, the character "has to be a little bit tweaked." The team also gave the character pet-like habits, including the set of his ears, his posture, and the way he cocks his head.

  Disney CEO Bob Iger remembered feeling, the moment he first saw the character, that it would connect with audiences. He described it as "So familiar and yet so new." Favreau has clarified that Grogu is not a younger version of Yoda himself. He declines to say whether the two are related in any other way.

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• 3. Puppet and Voice

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  The comedian Adam Pally learned the price of Grogu in the middle of a take. Pally plays an Imperial Scout Trooper who punches Grogu in the opening scene of "Chapter 8: Redemption". On the first take, he hit the animatronic puppet hard, and Favreau told him it cost about $5 million to make. Pally was so rattled that he missed Grogu altogether on the next three takes.

  The puppet came from Legacy Effects, a special effects studio started by protégés of the make-up effects creator Stan Winston. The studio designed Grogu and supplied the puppeteers who animate him during filming. All the wires and animatronic machinery inside make the puppet relatively heavy. Two technicians control it. One operates the eyes and mouth, and the other handles the remaining facial expressions. Several stand-in versions exist alongside the primary puppet.

  The crew wanted to use animatronics as often as possible. Even so, they shot versions of scenes both with and without the puppet, so a digital replacement remained possible. When digital effects are used, Favreau said, the team tries to make the character obey the same physical laws as the puppet. He argued that computer-generated characters often look too obvious when their creators do not set creative limits that preserve identity and charm.

  Grogu's voice came from David Acord and Matthew Wood, sound editors at Skywalker Sound who had worked on earlier Star Wars projects. Acord recorded animal noises at a wildlife rescue near San Diego. He used recordings of a bat-eared fox and a kinkajou to build the first version of the voice. Favreau felt the result needed to sound more human and relatable. The animal sounds were scaled back to small grunts and coos. Real infant vocals took their place, along with a highly pitched version of Acord's own voice for the more articulate sounds.

  Acord had voiced a young character before. In the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, released in 2008, he played Rotta the Hutt, the young Huttlet son of Jabba the Hutt.

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• 4. Life on Set

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  Deborah Chow, who directed episodes of the series, compared working with Grogu's puppeteers to directing a living actor. For each episode, the director talked the puppeteers through what was happening in the scene, what emotion the character should show, and what he should do. Favreau urged directors to test the limits of the puppet and to chase the most realistic movements possible. Brendan Wayne, a body double for the Mandalorian, said the puppet looked so real that performing against it felt like working with an actual child actor.

  The character had several names before he had a public one. Screenplays called him "the Child." Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed "Chapter 4: Sanctuary", said she always called him simply "Baby" on set. Other cast members called the character "The Being."

  Rick Famuyiwa directed "Chapter 2: The Child", and he was shocked to learn how the premiere ended. The first episode closes with the introduction of Grogu, which meant Famuyiwa would direct the episode that expanded on him.

  Crew and cast reactions ran toward affection. Chow said that every time the puppet appeared, even production assistants crowded around the monitors to see it. Howard screamed in excitement at her first sight of it. Gina Carano called Grogu "our precious," a being they all ended up taking care of in some way. Emily Swallow said she wanted to snuggle him when he arrived in a little bag for her scene. Carl Weathers admitted he rarely used the word, but called him "a cute little guy."

  The puppet could also be a burden. Misty Rosas gave the motion capture performance for Kuiil and often carried Grogu during "Chapter 7: The Reckoning". One full day was spent on Kuiil riding the blurrg creature, a process Rosas called "intense." She said: "My legs are not exactly long, so I was squeezing for dear life and holding the baby."

  At some point during production, George Lucas visited the set and held the puppet. Favreau posted a picture of the moment on Instagram on the 16th of January 2020, and it drew considerable attention.

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• 5. A Name Withheld

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  A fifty-year-old target is all the Client describes when he hires the Mandalorian in "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian". The target turns out to be Grogu. He is fifty during the events of that episode, yet he still looks like an infant because his species matures so slowly. That species has never been given a proper name, because George Lucas wanted Yoda to keep a sense of mystery.

  For most of two seasons, Grogu had no name either. Sympathetic characters called him "the child," "the kid," or "the baby." His antagonists used colder labels: "the asset," "the bounty," "the target," and "the donor." Subtitles and captions called him "the Child."

  The name arrives in "Chapter 13: The Jedi", the fifth episode of season 2. On the planet Corvus, former Jedi Ahsoka Tano speaks with him through the Force and learns his name. She also learns that he is a former Jedi youngling who was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He was rescued during the Great Jedi Purge and hidden for his safety, which is why he suppresses his Force powers. Ahsoka hesitates to train him because of his strong attachment to the Mandalorian.

  On the planet Arvala-7, the droid IG-11 tries to kill Grogu, and the Mandalorian destroys the droid to protect him. In "Chapter 2: The Child", Grogu levitates a mudhorn, a rhinoceros-like creature, so the Mandalorian can kill it. After delivering Grogu to the Client on Nevarro in "Chapter 3: The Sin", the Mandalorian has second thoughts and returns to rescue him. At the end of the first season, the Armorer, leader of the Mandalorian tribe, formally adopts Grogu into the culture as a foundling. She calls the pair a "clan of two" and chooses a mudhorn as their signet.

  Season 2 sends them in search of the Jedi. On Tython, Grogu meditates inside a protective Force field until Moff Gideon's Dark Troopers capture him. In "Chapter 16: The Rescue", Luke Skywalker arrives with R2-D2 and destroys the Dark Troopers. When Luke offers to train Grogu, the Mandalorian removes his helmet so the child can see his face for the first time and promises to meet him again.

  In The Book of Boba Fett, Luke lets Grogu choose between beskar chain mail forged by the Armorer and the lightsaber of Yoda. Grogu chooses the chain mail. He later puts a rampaging rancor to sleep with the Force in Mos Espa, then leaves Tatooine with the Mandalorian.

  Season 3 gives Grogu a mecha called IG-12, built from the remains of IG-11, which lets him speak only the words "Yes" and "No." In "Chapter 24: The Return", he faces three Praetorian Guards, which destroy the suit. He defeats them and Moff Gideon with the Force, and the Mandalorian adopts him as a son and apprentice. The Armorer names him Din Grogu, and Din is the Mandalorian's family name.

  At Disney's first quarter 2024 earnings call, Bob Iger announced a new Star Wars film bringing the Mandalorian and Grogu to the big screen. It was later revealed as The Mandalorian and Grogu.

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• 6. Fatherhood and Doubt

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  Ryan Britt of Fatherly wrote that the Star Wars franchise had avoided showing a parent-child bond for years. Vulture writer Kathryn VanArendonk added that earlier Star Wars stories showed later stages of parenthood, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi mentoring the adolescent Anakin Skywalker. Several reviewers compared the pair to Lone Wolf and Cub, a manga about a samurai and his young son. The Mandalorian grows less selfish because of the child. He holds him in his lap to stop him pressing cockpit buttons, and he sets up a car seat in the ship.

  The Mandalorian did not seek fatherhood. He leaves Grogu with the Client, and later plans to leave him with a protective mother named Omera on Sorgan. His own childhood, when he was orphaned and taken in as a foundling, helps explain the bond he feels.

  Peli Motto delivers the sharpest lesson in "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger". After the Mandalorian wakes Grogu, she asks how long it took her to get the child to sleep. She tells him he has "an awful lot to learn about raising a young one." Critics noted that he repeatedly leaves Grogu with strangers. ScreenCrush writer Matt Singer argued that such mistakes make the show more relatable. Anthony Breznican of Vanity Fair observed that the series skips the tantrums and shrieking of real parenthood.

  In "Chapter 7: The Reckoning", Grogu watches the Mandalorian and Cara Dune arm wrestle in friendly competition. He uses the Force to choke Cara, nearly strangling her, until the Mandalorian steps in. Choking is the ability most associated with Darth Vader. Sarah Bea Milner of Screen Rant called the moment "genuinely shocking." In the same episode, Grogu heals the near-fatal wounds of Greef Karga, a power typically linked to the light side.

  Esquire writer Matt Miller recalled that Yoda posed as a simple-minded observer when he first met Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, and he suggested Grogu might be acting too. Some fans pointed to a prophecy in the novel Star Wars: Master and Apprentice, published in 2019. It warns of a danger that "sleeps in an egg," and Grogu slept in an egg-like bassinet. Moff Gideon told the heroes they had no idea what they possessed.

  Bustle writer Caitlin Gallagher offered another reading. All season, Grogu sees violence around him, and Vulture's Keith Phipps noticed a "look of wonder" in his eyes when IG-11 downs several stormtroopers. Under the nature versus nurture reading, Grogu is neither good nor evil, only impressionable. Guidance would then fall largely to the Mandalorian.

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• 7. Secret and Merchandise

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  Donald Glover gave Favreau the idea of hiding Grogu. Favreau was directing Glover in the 2019 photorealistic remake of The Lion King, and the two talked about how rare true surprises had become in the Internet era. Glover pointed to the excitement of Beyoncé's sudden surprise albums. Favreau felt that people value being "surprised and delighted," and that keeping Grogu secret would let fans discover the story as it unfolded.

  Disney's leadership and marketing team supported the plan. Screeners of the pilot episode were not sent to reviewers. The official Lucasfilm and Star Wars social media accounts waited about a week after the series debuted before posting anything about Grogu.

  The secrecy had a price on store shelves. Designs of the character were withheld from product manufacturers for months before the premiere. As a result, no toys were ready for the 2019 Christmas season, despite high demand. Iger said that distributing the design widely would have risked leaks and called the wait "worth it." The Amazon product research tool Jungle Scout projected that Disney may have lost $2.7 million in revenue from the delay. Amazon customers searched for Baby Yoda products more than 90,000 times in a single month. Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus called the missed opportunity "sheer madness."

  Unofficial products filled the gap, sold through sites such as Etsy. They included felt and crocheted dolls, shirts, jewellery, Christmas ornaments, art prints, and coffee mugs. The top 47 unofficial products by Amazon merchants sold an average of 1,842 pieces in the month after the premiere, at an average of $23 per product. In mid-January 2020, Disney issued takedown notices against several Etsy sellers who used the words Star Wars, Mandalorian, and Yoda.

  Official products arrived in stages. T-shirts and other soft goods came first because they were easiest to produce. The first two official dolls were a 10-inch Funko figurine and an 11-inch plush from Mattel, shipping in February 2020. At the American International Toy Fair that month, Hasbro announced a nearly life-sized animatronic Grogu that sold out within days. Lego released BrickHeadz figures of Grogu and the Mandalorian in August 2020, and a Grogu figure appears in the 2021 set Trouble on Tatooine.

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• 8. Internet Phenomenon

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  Two million tweets featuring the words "Baby Yoda" were sent between the 12th of November and the 5th of December 2019. In the first two weeks after the premiere, Grogu drove 2.28 million social media interactions on news stories about the series. In the week after the debut, he generated almost twice as many such interactions as any of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. When Favreau tweeted Christian Alzmann's concept art on the 19th of November, it earned more than 34,000 retweets and 217,000 likes within a week.

  The nickname "Baby Yoda" came from fans. Favreau embraced it as "the easiest, shortest, most hashtagable way to identify that character." The crew does not use it internally, and Iger said Favreau "wrist slapped" him for using it in e-mail. Two memes stood out: Grogu sipping from a mug of soup, compared with the Kermit the Frog tea meme, and Grogu pressing cockpit buttons with the audio swapped for songs on the radio. In late November 2019, Giphy briefly removed its Grogu GIFs over confusion about their legal status, then restored them and apologized to Disney. Sports teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Mariners, made their own memes.

  The Guardian called him "2019's biggest new character." The Hollywood Reporter put him on the cover of its December 2019 issue under the headline "Baby Yoda represents the future of Hollywood." Julia Alexander of The Verge wrote that he was driving interest in Disney+. Robyn Bahr of The Hollywood Reporter argued the response proved audiences still want puppetry and practical effects, not only computer animation.

  Not everyone was charmed. Rolling Stone writer Alan Sepinwall called the reveal a rehash of Rotta the Hutt in The Clone Wars. Jeremy Gordon of The Outline called Grogu the "product of a merciless capitalist machine." Caryn James of the BBC doubted that anyone without an attachment to Star Wars would care. One online analysis found interest highest in Utah and lowest in Mississippi.

  The character spread into unexpected places. Time magazine ran artwork of Iger with Grogu when it named him Businessperson of the Year in December 2019. The December 2019 South Park episode "Basic Cable" featured Scott Malkinson, who tries to get Disney+ because the woman he likes loves Grogu. Kyle Mooney parodied him on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, starting on the 14th of December 2019. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, host Ricky Gervais jokingly mistook Joe Pesci for Baby Yoda. On the 20th of February, the United States Army revealed that an M1 Abrams tank of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in Georgia carried his name.

  In 2021, a medical journal article by Patrick Foye of Rutgers University described a "Baby Yoda sign." In certain MRI and CT slices, the sacral foramina resemble his eyes and the sacral canal resembles his mouth. In 2022, a fossil proteid salamander from the Miocene of Germany was named Euronecturus grogu. Its describers wrote that, like Grogu, it belongs to an ancient lineage "which appears in an unexpected place at an unexpected time."

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