Thanks to The Mandalorian season 2, Baby Yoda is no longer called Baby Yoda. The Child – as he was once officially known in a galaxy far, far away – is now Grogu. Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano found that out through the pair’s Force connection on Corvus. But why was the mystery of Baby Yoda’s real name (which could have ran and ran for several seasons) answered so soon?
Director Dave Filoni reveals it’s actually been in the works for quite some time and they just needed a way into Baby Yoda’s backstory – one which Ahsoka’s introduction in “The Jedi” offered.
“Jon [Favreau] told me early on in season one what it would be, which made me start to think about how people could learn the name. This gave me the idea that Ahsoka, who is very compassionate, would be able to connect with the Child,” he explained to Vanity Fair.
For Filoni, it was all about the connection between Grogu and Ahsoka that led to the timing of the surprise reveal in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5.
Filoni said: “I felt that if anyone would know or understand the Child’s history it would be Ahsoka. She has such a long history as well. By having her relate the story it also helps the viewer to understand some of her own backstory.”
Honestly, we’re still getting used to calling him Grogu. I’ll be calling him ‘Gro’ for the time being – it sounds cooler – but it’s interesting to know that, for the Mando brain trust, the question of Baby Yoda’s history was never intended to be a long-term puzzler. Gro figure.
