The creator of The Mandalorian debunked a fun fan theory regarding Grogu’s origin.
One common topic that comes up when discussing theories for Pedro Pascal’s Star Wars show is cloning. There have been teases of it since the beginning, but Season 2 brought with it some very real links to the concept in the form of potential Snoke clones being grown in the same tanks from Rise of Skywalker.
A popular fan theory theorizes how Baby Yoda, or Grogu, is actually a clone of Yoda himself, with accelerated aging. They also pose the idea that the character’s memory of Order 66 isn’t actually a real lived experience for the little force-user—but rather a false, implanted memory.
Grogu's Clone Theory Denied
In a new interview with Empire Magazine, key creatives behind The Mandalorian have teased what’s to come in the next season of the series while also speaking on the creation of Grogu.
Creator and executive producer Dave Filoni revealed that “[he] was probably one of the first people to hear [the pitch for Baby Yoda]:”
“I was probably one of the first people to hear that pitch. Jon said, ‘I want to make a character that’s like a baby Yoda.’ I thought, ‘Where are we going with this? If we’re doing that, I want to help, because Yoda is such an important character to George [Lucas]. I want to help make sure it’s going to come across as well as it can.’”
Despite a popular theory posing the idea that Grogu is a clone of Yoda, creator and executive producer Jon Favreau confirmed that the fan-favorite character is “his own person, with his own history:”
“We knew it wasn’t Yoda — anybody who knows the timeframe [five years after ‘Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi’] knows that it can’t be him. Is it a clone? There’s a lot of cloning going on. But he’s his own person, with his own history.”
Director Rick Famuyiwa shared how Grogu “brings out the best in the people around him:”
“The purity of the character brings out the best in the people around him. This next season continues to attach to that idea. Din Djarin is having to face the decision to take off his helmet because of this child. How he can put himself right with his own beliefs — and how to then look forward — is a lot of what this season is about.”
Not the Cloning You’re Looking For
Some might be bummed by this revelation, but had it been true, it would have made those tantalizing Order 66 flashbacks far less interesting. In honesty, many fans would also consider it a lackluster explanation of the character’s past.
Despite Grogu not being a clone himself, it does look like he might be the key to Palpatine’s shady cloning habits.
A previous report for The Mandalorian’s third season revealed that fans should expect praetorian guards, the type who guarded Snoke in Episode VIII, to show up at some point in Season 3.
This likely indicates that cloning will continue to play a big part in The Mandalorian—perhaps even finally culminating in a big reveal explaining some big plot advancements in the Sequel Trilogy. Thankfully, fans won’t have to wait long to find out.
