From Rex to Nubs: Dee Bradley Baker discusses new season of Young Jedi Adventures

Some of the most memorable characters in Star Wars have dialogue that isn't exactly quotable in English. Chewbacca roars and whuffles a lot. Wicket the Ewok speaks in short, deceptively simple sentences. Even the Jawas have their moments. For me, Nubs of the Young Jedi Adventures is a new favorite.

Voice actor Dee Bradley Baker has a special place in his heart for "characters that are not speaking English in Star Wars." In a feature on Starwars.com, the renowned creature voice actor discusses how he approached the creation of the chirping/jabbering/purring Pooba voice for Jedi Youngling Nubs. Fans will remember him for projects like The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, where he played ALL of the clone troopers. He is also the voice of Nix in the upcoming video game Star Wars Outlaws. Says Amy Richau, "If there's a Star Wars project that needs voice actors, it's highly likely Baker is a part of the crew."

This is especially true in Young Jedi Adventures since he lends his voice to lesser characters, such as pirates or creatures. In creating the language for Nubs, he described the mindset that he used for the loving and lovable character:

"I approached it sort of like my character with innocence and maybe a certain degree of cluelessness.... He's a child stepping into a universe that he is unfamiliar with, but one that he greets with optimism and a cheerful spirit. And that's how I approached stepping into Young Jedi Adventures, with that kind of open and innocent mind to the world that I'm about to start to explore and test myself in."

- Dee Bradley Baker

Baker admits that he's been a fan of the Star Wars creatures from the beginning, saying that they were "the thing that captivated [him] most about the original Star Wars film when [he] saw it back in 1977." The integrated universe was "an incredibly appealing idea to [him] as a kid, and still is."

Richau points out that subtitles were not possible for the target audience who are often still unable to read so that "it was Baker's job to make it obvious to a very young audience what Nubs was saying." Because improvisation is something that Baker does a lot of, "It takes about twenty minutes for Baker to record his lines for each episode.

Something that inspires Baker's performance is Nubs' resiliency. Says Baker, "Even if he has difficulties or hardships, he gets through it fine--and that is a vision for what life should be like."

Season 2 of Young Jedi Adventures is now available to stream on Disney+ as of August 14, 2022.