Continuing casting news, Jeremy Allen White will voice Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta the Hutt, in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian & Grogu (the news was first reported by Jeff Sneider). The film is the culmination of the story told thus far on the streaming series The Mandalorian, and will feature Pedro Pascal as the eponymous Mandalorian, as well as Sigourney Weaver in an unknown role

 

The Mandalorian & Grogu is the first feature film in the Star Wars franchise since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While the feature films sort of ran their reputation into the ground in the 2010’s, the TV side of Star Wars has done mostly well since The Mandalorian launched in late 2019. There have been some lows, but the highs—chiefly Andor—are incredibly high, and the Mandalorian and “baby Yoda” (aka Grogu) have become major pop culture figures. The Mandalorian also added “this is the way” to our pop culture lexicon, and the series theme song is the only new yet instantly recognizable movie theme in recent memory. The film is directed by Jon Favreau, and co-written by Favreau and Dave Filoni, the Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm. 

 

The Mandalorian is at its best when it’s focused on “Mando” and baby Yoda. The closer it gravitates to Skywalkers, the less I like it and the less interesting it becomes, so the news that JAW is voicing Jabba the Hutt’s son is a little concerning, because that brings the story close to Return of the Jedi and more Skywalker sh-t. If Marvel needs to figure out how to survive and thrive without RDJ, then Lucasfilm needs to figure out how to survive and thrive without Skywalkers. 

 

I was hoping The Mandalorian & Grogu would be a relatively self-contained story, like season one of The Mandalorian, but now I’m worried it’s going to be picking up pieces of ROTJ. Let Star Wars Evolve Beyond Skywalkers Challenge! But a film that can bring both Pedro Pascal AND Jeremy Allen White on a press tour is guaranteed a LOT of coverage, so from a marketing angle, this is a great move. Now, if they can just get Timothy Olyphant to come back as space marshal Cobb Vanth, we’ll really be in daddy business.

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