Din Grogu (/ˈɡroʊɡu/), colloquially referred to as Baby Yoda, is a fictional character from the Star Wars Disney+ original television series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. He is a toddler member of the same species as the Star Wars characters Yoda and Yaddle, with whom he shares a strong ability in the Force. In the series, the protagonist known as "the Mandalorian" is hired to track down and capture Grogu for a remnant of the fallen Galactic Empire, but instead, he becomes his adoptive father and protects him from the Imperials. The character's real name was not revealed until "Chapter 13: The Jedi", which also explained that Grogu was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during the Clone Wars. Before this, the character's official name, used in subtitles and captions, was "The Child". At the end of "Chapter 24: The Return", he is given the name Din Grogu after being formally adopted by the Mandalorian, whose family name is "Din".
Grogu has appeared in every episode of the first three seasons, except "Chapter 15: The Believer". He was created by The Mandalorian creator and showrunner Jon Favreau based upon his desire to explore the mystery around Yoda and his species. The character was further developed in early conversations between Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni, and the character's imagery was defined by concept artist Christian Alzmann. Grogu is mostly a work of animatronics and puppetry, although accentuated with computer-generated imagery.
The puppet was designed by Legacy Effects. Actor Adam Pally has stated that showrunner Jon Favreau told him it cost about $5 million to make.[1] It is controlled by two technicians, one who operates the eyes and mouth and another who controls other facial expressions. The character's voice and sounds were created using a combination of adult and infant vocals, as well as recordings of a bat-eared fox and kinkajou. The dynamic between the Mandalorian and Grogu embodies a theme of parenting and fatherhood prevalent in The Mandalorian, with the character also raising questions about good and evil and nature versus nurture in the series.
Grogu has received a positive reception from fans and reviewers, is widely considered the show's breakout character,[2][3] and quickly became a popular Internet meme. The Guardian called him "2019's biggest new character",[4] and The Hollywood Reporter has said the character "represents the future of Hollywood".[5] Many writers have described Grogu as a key part in the success of Disney+.[6][7][8][9] Grogu was kept secret and was deliberately withheld from The Mandalorian's pre-release marketing and merchandise plans to avoid leaks and spoiling Grogu's reveal before the show aired.
Appearances
Backstory
A member of the same species as the Star Wars character Yoda,[10][11] he is 50 years old during the events of The Mandalorian "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian", but still appears to be an infant because of the pace at which that species matures.[12][13][14] The species has never been given a proper name because Star Wars creator George Lucas wanted Yoda to maintain a sense of mystery.[2][4][15] Until Chapter 13 (i.e. episode 5 of season 2) of The Mandalorian, Grogu was not identified by a proper name, being referred to by sympathetic characters as "the child", "the kid", or "the baby", and by the antagonists as "the asset", "the bounty", "the target", or "the donor".[11][16]
Season 1
Grogu first appears in the series debut, "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian", when the Mandalorian accepts a valuable commission from a mysterious man known only as "The Client" (Werner Herzog), who works for a remnant of the now-fallen Galactic Empire. The assignment is to track down and capture an unidentified fifty-year-old target.[17][18][19] The Mandalorian and a fellow bounty hunter droid, IG-11 (Taika Waititi), infiltrate a remote and heavily defended encampment on the planet Arvala-7 and find Grogu. When IG-11 attempts to kill Grogu, the Mandalorian protects him and instead shoots and destroys IG-11.[19][20][21] In "Chapter 2: The Child", Grogu is present when the Mandalorian is attacked by a giant rhinoceros-like creature called a mudhorn. As the beast rushes toward the Mandalorian for the kill, Grogu uses the Force to levitate the mudhorn, allowing a surprised Mandalorian to kill it.[22][23][24] The Mandalorian delivers Grogu to the Client on the planet Nevarro and collects his bounty in "Chapter 3: The Sin", after which the Client orders his colleague, Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi), to "extract the necessary material" from Grogu.[25][26] The Mandalorian later has second thoughts and returns to the Imperial compound to rescue Grogu, killing multiple stormtroopers.[27][28] This violates the code of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, and a group of bounty hunters led by guild leader Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) ambush the Mandalorian and attempt to take Grogu back from him.[29][30][31] The Mandalorian and Grogu are saved when fellow warriors from the Mandalorian's tribe come out of hiding to defend them, allowing them to escape Nevarro.[25][31]
In "Chapter 4: Sanctuary", the Mandalorian seeks refuge in the sparsely populated planet Sorgan. He plans to leave Grogu in a village there under the care of a widow named Omera (Julia Jones), but after another bounty hunter tracks them down, he realizes the planet is not safe.[32][33][34] The Mandalorian and Grogu visit the planet Tatooine in "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger", during which the Mandalorian leaves Grogu in the care of a mechanic named Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris). Grogu and Peli are briefly abducted by a bounty hunter named Toro Calican (Jake Cannavale), whom the Mandalorian kills.[35] In "Chapter 6: The Prisoner", the Mandalorian participates in a rescue job as part of a team of mercenaries organized by Ranzar Malk (Mark Boone Junior). The Mandalorian keeps Grogu hidden on his ship during the mission, but the other mercenaries eventually find him. One of them, a droid named Q9-0 (Richard Ayoade), learns of the bounty on Grogu and tries to kill him, but is himself destroyed by the Mandalorian.[36][37] At the start of the first season's penultimate episode, "Chapter 7: The Reckoning", the Mandalorian is contacted by Greef Karga, who says the Client has tightened his control over Nevarro as a result of the Mandalorian's actions there. Greef proposes that the Mandalorian help him kill the Client and eliminate the Imperial presence from the planet, and in exchange, he and Grogu will be safe from any further reprisals from the Guild.[38][39][40]
The proposal is a trap, and Greef plans to ambush and kill the Mandalorian and return Grogu to the Client.[29][40][41] Nevertheless, the Mandalorian accepts the offer and returns to the planet along with Grogu and his allies Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Kuiil (Nick Nolte), and the recently-rebuilt IG-11, whom Kuiil has reprogrammed to be a nurse droid and protector for Grogu.[38][39][41] During their voyage, the party is attacked by pterodactyl-like creatures and Greef receives what would have been a fatal injury, but Grogu uses the Force to heal him.[39][42][43] Greef is so moved that he has a change of heart and informs the others about the trap.[29][42][30] They devise a new plan in which Kuiil will bring Grogu back to the Mandalorian's ship, while the others will kill the Client and his troops.[39][40][41] The plan goes wrong and Kuiil is killed by Imperial Scout Troopers,[44][45] who briefly abduct Grogu before he is rescued by IG-11 at the start of the first-season finale, "Chapter 8: Redemption".[46] IG-11 brings Grogu back to the Mandalorian, Cara, and Greef and helps defend them against an ambush by the Imperial leader Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who is revealed to have been seeking Grogu all along.[47][48][49] He does not reveal why he wants Grogu, but says he "means more to me than you will ever know".[50]
After surviving an attack by Gideon's stormtroopers, during which Grogu uses the Force to deflect the fire of an attacking stormtrooper's flamethrower back against him, the group escapes with Grogu through a sewer grate. They seek help from the hidden Mandalorian tribe, but it is revealed the Imperials wiped out the tribe after they revealed themselves in "Chapter 3: The Sin".[51] The tribe's leader, "the Armorer" (Emily Swallow), instructs the Mandalorian to watch over and protect Grogu,[52][53][54] who she formally adopts into the Mandalorian culture as a "foundling", like the Mandalorian once was himself.[53][55] She instructs the Mandalorian to seek out and deliver Grogu to the others of his kind, and that until this occurs, the Mandalorian and Grogu are a "clan of two", and that the Mandalorian will be like a father to him.[55][56] She declares their signet to be a likeness of a Mudhorn, the creature the Mandalorian and Grogu worked together to kill in "Chapter 2: The Child".[57] The group departs, and IG-11 sacrifices himself to destroy an entire squad of stormtroopers to protect Grogu.[47] After fending off a final attack from Moff Gideon, the Mandalorian once again departs from Nevarro with Grogu.[51]
Season 2
Grogu accompanies the Mandalorian during his search for other Mandalorians who could help him find the child's people: the Jedi. In "Chapter 9: The Marshal", the pair return to Tatooine and meet Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), the Marshal of Mos Pelgo, who is not a true Mandalorian but wears Mandalorian armor. The Mandalorian helps Vanth slay a krayt dragon which had been attacking Mos Pelgo in exchange for his armor, along the way arranging an uneasy alliance between the townspeople and a Tusken Raider tribe, and developing a deep respect for Vanth, to the point he entrusts him to look after Grogu, should he perish during his attempt to kill the dragon. In "Chapter 10: The Passenger", the Mandalorian and Grogu leave for Trask, where they must take a contact, "Frog Lady" (Misty Rosas, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), and her eggs in exchange for a lead on other Mandalorians. During their journey, Grogu takes a liking to the eggs and eats a few of them despite being explicitly forbidden from doing so by the Mandalorian. Grogu's appetite also gets the group into trouble while stranded on Maldo Kreis, where he eats a spider-like creature's egg just as the rest of the swarm hatches. They are ultimately saved from the swarm by two X-wing pilots (Dave Filoni and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) from the New Republic. In "Chapter 11: The Heiress", the group arrives on Trask and after bringing Frog Lady and her remaining eggs to her husband, the Mandalorian, and Grogu encounter Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and two other Mandalorian warriors, who save them from a crew of Quarrens who tried to kill the two and steal the Mandalorian's armor. While the Mandalorian accompanies Bo-Katan's team on a mission in exchange for a lead on Jedi, Grogu is left with the Frog Man and Frog Lady, during which time the eggs hatch and Grogu bonds with the newborn tadpoles.
In "Chapter 12: The Siege", the Mandalorian and Grogu return to Nevarro for repairs to the Razor Crest, and reunite with Greef Karga and Cara Dune, who have since turned the planet around. While the Mandalorian goes with Greef, Cara, and their Mythrol companion (Horatio Sanz) to destroy the last Imperial base on Nevarro in exchange for said repairs, Grogu is left at a local school, where he uses the Force to steal some cookies from a child. This episode also provides a clue as to what the Empire's plans with Grogu are; while exploring the Imperial base, the Mandalorian and the others stumble upon cloning experiments performed by Imperial scientists, involving Grogu's blood, some of which has already been transfused to the clones to supposedly give them Force-sensitivity.
In "Chapter 13: The Jedi", the Mandalorian takes Grogu to former Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on Corvus, who communicates with him through the Force, learning his name and that he is a former Jedi youngling who was rescued from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during the Great Jedi Purge and hidden for his safety, which is why he suppresses his Force powers.[58] While Ahsoka is reluctant to train Grogu because of his strong attachment to the Mandalorian, she tells the latter to take him to the Jedi Temple on Tython, where Grogu might reach out to another Jedi through the Force and choose his destiny.
In "Chapter 14: The Tragedy", the Mandalorian brings Grogu to said temple, where he begins meditating, creating a protective Force field around him. Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant, having tracked down the Mandalorian, soon attacks in an attempt to capture Grogu, who continues his meditation while being protected by the Mandalorian and the recently arrived Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), who made a deal with the former to protect Grogu in exchange for Fett's armor (which the Mandalorian obtained from Cobb Vanth). Despite their best efforts, Grogu is captured by Gideon's Dark Troopers and taken to his cruiser, where he is imprisoned inside a holding cell. Later, Gideon witnesses Grogu using his Force powers on two stormtroopers that he throws around the cell, before stunning him and preparing to take him to Dr. Pershing to complete the blood transfusion.
In "Chapter 16: The Rescue", the Mandalorian boards Gideon's ship to rescue Grogu, assisted by Cara, Fett, Fennec, Bo-Katan, and Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado). While Fett provides cover from Slave I and the others take control of the ship's bridge, the Mandalorian confronts and defeats Gideon. With Gideon captured and Grogu in their custody, the Mandalorian and his allies have their escape route cut off by a platoon of Dark Trooper droids until Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) arrives with R2-D2 and destroys the Dark troopers. When Luke offers to raise and train Grogu, the Mandalorian, realizing that the child's destiny is to become a Jedi, reluctantly allows him to go with Luke. During an emotional farewell, the Mandalorian removes his helmet to let Grogu see his face for the first time and promises to meet him again.
The Book of Boba Fett
Grogu appears in the sixth episode, "Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger", of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett. While training with Luke, he helps Grogu remember some of his past, including his home at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and the events of the Great Jedi Purge. The Mandalorian comes to visit Grogu, but decides against it after speaking with Ahsoka Tano, not wanting to hinder his training; however, he gives Ahsoka a gift to deliver to Grogu: beskar chain mail forged by the Armorer. Ahsoka gives the chain mail to Luke, who confesses that he is unsure whether Grogu is fully committed to the Jedi path and that he does not know how to handle the matter. Following Ahsoka's advice to listen to his instincts, Luke decides to let Grogu choose his destiny by asking him to choose between the chain mail and the lightsaber of his old master, Yoda.[59]
In the seventh and final episode, titled "Chapter 7: In The Name of Honor", Grogu lands in Motto's hangar on Tatooine with R2-D2 in Luke's X-wing starfighter, where it is revealed that Grogu chose the beskar chain mail over Yoda's lightsaber. Motto then takes him to Mos Espa, where he reunites with the Mandalorian. He and Motto aid the Mandalorian, Boba Fett, and Fett's forces in defeating the Pyke Syndicate. However, Cad Bane (Corey Burton) scares off Fett's rancor, which goes on a rampage in Mos Espa. Grogu uses the Force to put the rancor to sleep, stopping it from causing more damage. Afterward, Grogu and the Mandalorian fly away together from Tatooine, in the Mandalorian's new Naboo N-1 starfighter.[60]
Season 3
Grogu accompanies the Mandalorian on his travels as he attempts to atone for breaking the Creed by removing his helmet. In "Chapter 17: The Apostate", the Mandalorian has IG-11 partially repaired as a prospective companion, but IG-11 defaults to his original programming and attempts to kill Grogu before once again being destroyed. In "Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore", Pelli Motto sells R5-D4 to the Mandalorian and the three travel to Mandalore. When the Mandalorian is captured by a cyborg in the mines, Grogu flies with R5 in the N-1 to Kalevala to fetch Bo-Katan to rescue the captured Mandalorian. After the rescue, Bo-Katan leads Grogu and the Mandalorian to the Living Waters and Grogu witnesses the Mandalorian bathe himself. In "Chapter 19: The Convert" the trio are attacked by Imperial starfighters in Kalevala, forcing them to flee to the Mandalorian's convert, where Grogu witnesses the Mandalorian's redemption and Bo-Katan's induction.
In "Chapter 20: The Foundling", Grogu trains with fellow Foundling Ragnar Vizsla (Wesley Kimmel) until Ragnar is captured by a large winged Raptor. While the Mandalorian, Bo-Katan, and Ragnar's father Paz (Jon Favreau) leave to rescue him, Grogu joins the Armorer at the Forge, where she teaches him Mandalorian culture and forges him a beskar rondel. The Forge triggers more of Grogu's memories of the Great Jedi Purge, revealing that he escaped Coruscant with the help of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq (Ahmed Best) and sympathetic members of the Naboo Armed Forces.
In "Chapter 21: The Pirate" and "Chapter 22: Guns for Hire", Grogu tags along as Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian bring together their respective tribes. In "Chapter 23: The Spies", Grogu is given IG-12, a human-sized mecha made from the remains of IG-11, which he uses both to walk and to speak, although he can use only the words "Yes" and "No". When a quarrel breaks out between two Mandalorians from different tribes as they cross the ruined surface of Mandalore, Grogu intervenes to calm tensions and restore the peace.
In "Chapter 24: The Return", Grogu saves the Mandalorian after he is captured and helps him fight his way through Moff Gideon's base on Mandalore. Grogu faces off against three Praetorian Guards, which destroy his IG-12 suit; he uses the Force to defeat the guards and Moff Gideon, and later to shield himself, the Mandalorian, and Bo-Katan from a fiery explosion. Once Mandalore is reclaimed, the Mandalorian adopts Grogu as his son and apprentice, and he is given the name Din Grogu by the Armorer. The pair leave Mandalore so that Din Grogu can complete his apprenticeship.[61]
