In some of the more bizarre and unexpected casting news we've shared in quite a while, The Bear and The Iron Claw star Jeremy Allen White is set to join the Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian and Grogu... as the son of Jabba the Hutt!
The news was first reported by Jeff Sneider on Kristian Harloff's YouTube show, and THR has since confirmed that White will provide the voice of Rotta the Hutt in the movie, which will see the return of Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, along with the adorable Force-sensitive alien who was dubbed "Baby Yoda" by the fan community before his real name was revealed during the Disney+ series.
Sigourney Weaver is also on board in an undisclosed role.
"I’m playing a role in The Mandalorian & Grogu [which will be directed by Jon Favreau]," confirmed the Alien icon earlier this year. "I got to meet Grogu for the first time the other day. I’m filming that before I go to London for The Tempest at the end of the year."
Rotta made his animated debut in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie before going on to appear in a number of episodes of the TV series. He was one of the few members of the Hutt crime syndicate who wasn't an unscrupulous villain - although he was just a baby when we last saw him!
With this is mind, there's a chance Rotta will be an antagonist in the upcoming movie, and Variety hints that Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) might also appear following their dealings with the Hutts in The Book of Boba Fett series.
The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau is set to direct and produce the big-screen spin-off, with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni also serving as producers.
Filoni recently confirmed that the film has wrapped principal photography.
"I'm very excited about it as well," he teased. "Jon and I had a great time working on that, as we always do. It was great seeing Grogu. He's become such a star, and it's amazing how it's evolved, what we can do now with the puppetry compared to Season 1 and where we are today in a film working with the team which I worked quite a bit with them on the puppetry. Legacy effects did a fantastic job, and what a wonderful little creation Grogu is."
What do you make of this casting new? Let us know in the comments section down below.
The Mandalorian & Grogu will be the first Star Wars feature since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The movoe is set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026.