Star Wars’ Dave Filoni Thought Baby Yoda Was A Terrible Idea
The Star Wars spinoff show The Mandalorian has been a runaway hit, in large part because it contrasts the gruffness of the title character with the adorable antics of Grogu (who, no matter what dumb name he has been given, most fans still call “Baby Yoda”). And this cute addition to the franchise felt like a throwback to the Original Trilogy: cute design, stupid name, and destined to sell countless toys. However, ComicBook.com reports that Star Wars guru Dave Filoni was initially very much against adding such a character to the show.
Filoni originally said this in the documentary Disney Gallery – Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Three, in which he also revealed that the concept of Baby Yoda was a brainchild of showrunner Jon Favreau.
“You know, like in season one, Jon wants to make a Baby Yoda. I’m like, ‘What? Why? Why would we do this? That sounds like not a good idea.”
Dave Filoni
Favreau suddenly revealed the idea, and Filoni responded by telling him it sounded like it was “not a good idea.” However, the two of them obviously ended up going forward with the concept, much to the joy of fans everywhere.
If a Star Wars architect like Dave Filoni thought Baby Yoda was a bad idea from the beginning, then why did they end up going through with it? To hear Filoni tell it, the process was vaguely Jedi-like: he had to “put that initial fear aside”, and once he did so, he was able to “really examine” the wild idea that Favreau had brought to him.
And it was at this point that Filoni fully devoted himself to a character concept he still didn’t quite believe in.
Interestingly, Filoni says that he went along with the idea out of loyalty to Star Wars creator George Lucas, and that made him very protective of how they approached the whole Baby Yoda concept. He promised to be there with Favreau every step of the way because “Yoda’s one of George’s favorite characters and we cannot mess this up.”
And together, the two created a captivating new Star Wars character that helped headline the most successful Star Wars spinoff show on Disney+.
What made Dave Filoni skeptical about crafting Baby Yoda?
We imagine that part of what made Star Wars guru Dave Filoni nervous about creating Baby Yoda is that they had to take a familiar design and manage to do something new with it. Somewhat ironically, Filoni is now doing this with his own character as he works on bringing the Ahsoka series to life.
Ahsoka Tano is a character that fans know very well thanks to her many appearances in animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels, and it’s an ongoing challenge for both Filoni and live-action Ahsoka actor Rosario Dawson to discover new aspects of this former Jedi.
David Filoni was initially against creating Baby Yoda because Yoda was George Lucas’ favorite character and he didn’t want to screw it up.
While we’re not sure if the newest Star Wars spinoff will contain any of The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda, fans can look forward to Ahsoka introducing live-action versions of many captivating characters, including fan-favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn. And Mary Elizabeth Winstead (best known for her onscreen portrayal of Ramona Flowers) will be bringing Twi’lek pilot and all-around den mother Hera Syndulla to life in the show.
We’re pretty hyped to see her in the Star Wars universe, and if the show’s plot revolves around Ahsoka having to fight off all of the Scott Pilgrim actor’s evil exes, we wouldn’t exactly complain.
