Baby Yoda’s Name Was Decided During ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 1, And Ahsoka Tano Was There When George Lucas Held Him
One of the biggest revelations to come out of last weekend’s episode ofThe Mandalorianwas the real name of Baby Yoda. His name is Grogu, and executive producerJon Favreauhas known that since the first season, but it was fellow executive producerDave Filoniwho figured out how to finally reveal it with the debut ofRosario Dawsonas Ahsoka Tano.
Speaking of which, do you remember back when everyone was freaking out about Jon Favreausnapping a photoofStar WarscreatorGeorge Lucasholding Baby Yoda way back at the beginning of the year? It just so happens that Rosario Dawson was in full wardrobe and make-up as Ahsoka Tano that day, and she was there for that viral moment.
Vanity Fairhad an extensive chat with both Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson about last weekend’s episode ofThe Mandalorian, entitled “The Jedi.” It was a huge moment for longtime fans of theClone Warsanimated series because it brought Dave Filoni’s creation to life in the live-actionStar Warsuniverse. The debut of the character also allowed fans an opportunity to finally learn The Child’s name. Filoni explained:
Though he’s 50 years old, Grogu doesn’t speak. He makes adorable sounds, but he hasn’t communicated with words. Through the Force, Ahsoka Tano is able to connect with him psychically and learn about what he’s been through. I’m not sure his name is as big of a deal as what his species might be called, but it’s nice that they didn’t contrive a way to reveal the information before now. But Filoni admits he had to force himself to stop just short of winking at fans by having someone call him Baby Yoda:
“I thought one of the most compelling things about introducing Ahsoka is that she is one of the few, few people that we could encounter in a story and she would say, ‘All right. I met someone like him. I’ve only ever seen one other being like this.’ I had to stop myself from doing something ridiculous like have her say, ‘Is that a Yoda baby?’ It almostdemandsto be said.”
With “The Jedi,” fans were given yet another crossover between the animated side and the live-action ofStar Wars, following the arrival of Katee Sackfhoff as Bo-Katan. But this episode that actually provided an even more surrealStar Warsmoment, especially for Rosario Dawson. One of the days she was shooting scenes as Ahsoka Tano was the same day that George Lucasvisited the set ofThe Mandalorian. Dawson revealed that she was on-hand for the moment that took the internet by storm. She told Vanity Fair:
“I actually got to be there on the day that there’s that photo. Someone took a picture of George Lucas holding Baby Yoda. I’m still calling him Baby Yoda—Grogu! I was there that day. I was all dressed up, I was just off to the side of that photo, all done up as Ahsoka. And I remember it broke the internet when that picture came out. It was just an amazing, amazing moment, and we were all beside ourselves. It was definitely very geek-out.”
So one day on the set ofThe Mandalorian, the creator ofStar Warsheld the latest pop culture sensation while a flesh-and-blood iteration of one of the most beloved characters fromThe Clone Warswas standing off-camera in the first ever live-actionStar Warsseries. It’s kind of crazy that we’ve arrived here, but we’re certainly not going to complain.
