After fake Mandalorian and Grogu image of Rotta the Hutt brandishing knives took off online, ILM animator debunks the picture: "It's BS"

A new image purportedly from The Mandalorian and Grogu has been circulating online, and Industrial Light & Magic animation director Hal Hickel has taken to social media to debunk the picture.

The image shows Rotta the Hutt, who will be played by Jeremy Allen White in the film, brandishing two weapons. It looks pretty convincing, but, according to Hickel, it's a total fake.

"There is an image of Rotta the Hutt circulating on social right now. It's BS. It's not from the film. Ignore it," he wrote on Bluesky.

We've had glimpses of Rotta the Hutt in the two Mandalorian and Grogu trailers released so far, and a much younger version of the character had a major role in the animated Clone Wars movie. To get a proper look at him in the new film, though, we'll just have to be patient.

Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni has recently said The Mandalorian and Grogu is "a big celebration" of the titular duo, and, by the sounds of things, it won't be like the Star Wars movies that have come before it, either. "Episode VII was a completely different entity,” Filoni explained.

"I had dreams of Episode VII since I came out of Return of the Jedi. You were like, 'After VI comes VII! Where's VII?' We're in a completely different era of Star Wars now," he continued.

The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in theaters this May 22. The next Star Wars release is animated show Maul – Shadow Lord, which lands on Disney Plus this April 6.

In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.