The Mandalorian and Grogu is getting a powerhouse actor in probably some of the most eyebrow raising news of the year. As reported by Jeff Sneider of The InSneider on The Kristian Harloff Show via Deadline, Jeremy Allen White will be joining Star Wars in its next big screen outing in The Mandalorian and Grogu.
White is the star of The Bear, winning two Emmys and getting a third nomination for the Golden Globes, which he has already won two back-to-back. So, what iconic role do you tap with such impressive acting chops? Certainly not some throw-away cameo, right?
The significant role that Jeremy is reported to be playing is that of Jabba’s son, Rotta the Hutt!
No, not Ezra Bridger’s son. Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta, or "Stinky" as Ahsoka Tano would call him, was first featured in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). The Mandalorian successfully brought several characters from animation into live-action, including Tano as well as Bo-Katan Kryze. Now, the first big-screen Star Wars film since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker will introduce another animated character to the world stage. The Mandalorian and Grogu will essentially be encountering a slightly older Rotta the Hutt, to be voiced by Jeremy Allen White. Technically, The Bear has already touched a galaxy far, far away when Ebon Moss-Bachrach played Arvel Skeen in Andor.
As Rotta was only a baby Hutt when we first saw him in animation, it will be interesting to see how the look translates to live-action and see how their character may have been molded by the death of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. Hutt’s other than Jabba have appeared in two live-action Star Wars projects: The Phantom Menace and The Book of Boba Fett. Will Rotta be concerned that the Hutt’s recent attempts to take back the title of criminal overlords of Tatooine were thwarted by a former employee in Boba Fett as well as Din Djarin?
The Mandalorian and Grogu represent legacy as Star Wars ushers its flagship series onto the big screen (and Grogu literally being referred to as ‘Baby Yoda’), and including Rotta the Hutt in this story means a further exploration of the legacy of Jabba the Hutt. If there’s one actor out there that can lend gravitas to a role that is essentially a nepo baby of the one and only Jabba the Hutt, it’s The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White.