The Mandalorian: Giancarlo Esposito hints at new Baby Yoda powers

Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Baby Yoda might have more powers than The Mandalorian has revealed so far.

Though we've seen Grogu using his Force telekinesis powers quite a lot, and saw him meditating atop the Seeing Stone, it seems the little green guy has more tricks up his sleeve – which might explain why Moff Gideon, played by Giancarlo Esposito, has been so desperate to get hold of him.

"I am going to get this child, and it's for a very different reason than many people think," Esposito said at GalaxyCon (H/T WRAL). "This child has magic powers, 50 years old, and can see the future, and we want everyone to know, eventually on this show, that this child could save our universe." 

Gideon has kept his cards pretty close to his chest about why exactly he wants the Child so much, though it's clear it has something to do with Grogu's high "M-count" – which means midi-chlorians, the tiny cellular life form that give the Jedi their Force sensitivity. It's been speculated that the Empire want to use Baby Yoda in experiments to create Snoke, or a clone body for Emperor Palpatine, but it seems the real answer is going to be more complicated, considering the Child apparently holds the key to the universe's survival. Plus, there's the fact that Anakin Skywalker was having visions of the future in the prequel trilogy – and we all know how that turned out…

This is also an indication that we'll probably be seeing Baby Yoda again in The Mandalorian season 3, after Luke Skywalker took him away for Jedi training. So far, plot details on the third series are being kept tightly under wraps, but a recent report indicates that The Book of Boba Fett, which is due out this year, will be like "The Mandalorian season 2.5," with characters crossing over. If that's the case, we can expect to find out more about the third Mando series once Boba Fett's spinoff gets started on Disney Plus.

Other Star Wars shows in the works include Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is filming now, and Rogue One prequel Andor, starring Diego Luna. For a complete rundown of everything arriving soon from the galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.

Molly Edwards
Entertainment Writer

I'm an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.