The Mandalorian: Dave Filoni was ‘cautious’ when crafting Baby Yoda’s backstory

As more Star Wars stories are told, fans learn new bits of information about their favorite characters, species, and past storylines from previous movies, shows, books, and more. But there is one character whose past will largely remain a mystery — and that’s apparently the way George Lucas always wanted it.

In this week’s Vanity Fair story about the future of Star Wars, creator Dave Filoni spoke about the challenges he and Jon Favreau faced when introducing Grogu — often still called Baby Yoda by fans — when writing The Mandalorian. He didn’t want to reveal too much about Grogu, because doing so would spoil the mysteries that have always surrounded Master Yoda.

“Honestly, it’s something I never would’ve done because Yoda is Yoda,” Filoni said. “I think people now look back and think it was like a slam dunk, but we were very cautious. The amount of measuring, especially in the first season, for how we were framing this kid took a lot of effort.”

Yoda’s origins — everything from the name of his species to his homeworld to the explanation behind why he talks like that — have remained a total mystery in Star Wars’ entire 45-year history. As George Lucas’s apprentice of sorts, Filoni has put in a lot of work to keep his mentor’s larger Star Wars vision at the forefront of every story he tells within a galaxy far, far away. He was determined to keep Yoda’s secrets hidden, even while introducing another member of his species into canon.

Star Wars fans are divided on whether or not they believe Yoda and Grogu’s species and homeworlds should be revealed. For many, preserving the mystery is part of the magic of Star Wars. There are just some things we’ll never know — and that’s OK.

Thanks to The Book of Boba Fett, we now know that Grogu isn’t going anywhere — did we really think he’d be able to stay out of the main storyline for long? It’s unclear exactly what his story will entail in the upcoming season of The Mandalorian. But it’s clear where he comes from and the origin of his ancestors will continue to remain anonymous.

Both seasons of The Mandalorian are now available to stream on Disney+.

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