“The Mandalorian” was a resounding success for “Star Wars” for many reasons, but without a doubt her co-star’s lovability and virality went a long way. Grogu, better known as Baby Yoda, stole fans’ hearts from the first moment, flooding the Internet with cute memes and pictures. You might think this was Disney who repeated the strategy of designing cuddly little creatures to sell many dolls (Stitch, Olaf, Baby Dory, Baby Pegasus, Baby Groot … all little girls), but Joe Dante doesn’t think the same way.
Dante, director of ‘Gremlins’, an iconic film from the 1980s, it is clear that the inspiration behind Grogu does not come from wanting to have a new version of Yoda but in a very cute little boy; it comes from your Gizmo. The aforementioned director, in statements to the San Francisco Chronicle (via IndieWire), assured that Baby Yoda is a “shameless copy” of the main mascot of his movie 84, pointing out that Lucasfilm didn’t cut a hair by ‘replicating’ Gizmo but in green. “Baby Yoda is stealing, just like that. It’s just a cheeky copy, I’d say”. There is no denying the similarities between the two insects, but Grogu could hardly have looked at it any other way considering he is Yoda other than as a child.
Even if you think about the inspirations, before the Gremlins we saw other warrior teddy bears on the screen. The Ewoks opposed the Empire in “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi”, 1983 film that could have “inspired” the little creatures of Dante’s film, released a year later. Of course the current galactic proposals drink from all of the above, but ‘A New Hope’ broke the mold in 1977 and there is no doubt: she is the mother of half of current science fiction (the other half comes from dad, ‘Doctor who’ ).
What are the prospects for “The Mandalorian”
The third season of “The Mandalorian”, which will be available on Disney + from February 2023, you’ll have to pick up where we left off with the last few episodes of “The Book of Boba Fett”. Mando and Grogu are together again, but the situation for pope din was complicated due to the strict Mandalorian creed. Here is how Pedro Pascal himself explained it in statements to eCartelera during the “Star Wars Celebration 2022”: “Din is in crisis. That Grogu means more to him than his creed has put him in a difficult situation. He deserves a break. They should allow you to have both”.
Source: E Cartelera
