Is The Mandalorian & Grogu Teasing Live-Action Clone Wars Flashbacks?

We’re just weeks away from the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first new Star Wars movie to release in theaters since 2019’s Rise of Skywalker. While there’s a lot about the movie to get excited about, a new behind-the-scenes reveal may have just teased the inclusion of live-action Clone Wars flashbacks.

2023’s Ahsoka series was the first Star Wars project to deliver exciting live-action Clone Wars flashbacks, bringing key animated moments to life, such as the Siege of Mandalore. Now, The Mandalorian & Grogu may be preparing to follow suit when the new movie releases next month.

Thanks to a recent BTS detail connected to the upcoming Star Wars movie, it’s very possible that The Mandalorian & Grogu will revisit moments from the earliest days of the Clone Wars centered around a very exciting character return: Rotta the Hutt.

Director Jon Favreau Hand-Painted A Model Of Baby Rotta For The Mandalorian & Grogu

During a recent set visit during The Mandalorian & Grogu’s ongoing press tour, various news outlets and influencers were invited to explore a warehouse full of props, set pieces, and models. This included a never-before-seen live-action sculpture of Baby Rotta, reportedly hand-painted by director Jon Favreau himself.

As seen in trailers for The Mandalorian & Grogu, we know that an adult Rotta the Hutt will be prominently featured fighting in a gladiatorial arena and voiced by The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White. However, we’ve never seen Baby Rotta in live-action before, as he was only ever included in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the animated movie that kicked off the beloved series.

Clearly, all signs are pointing to The Mandalorian & Grogu featuring flashbacks to the son of Jabba’s childhood alongside his present role as a fully grown adult Hutt. As such, this could open the door to some really cool live-action character returns in the upcoming Star Wars movie.

Does This Mean We’re Getting More Live-Action Clone Wars Flashbacks?

If Baby Rotta is indeed appearing in live-action as teased, it strongly suggests that The Mandalorian & Grogu could include flashbacks to the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie.

In the 2008 movie, Baby Rotta was kidnapped by the Separatists in a bid to control hyperspace trade routes. However, the child was ultimately rescued and returned to Jabba by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, their first mission together as master and apprentice. As such, revisiting any part of that story and bringing it to life in live-action could be pretty cool to see. After all, Lucasfilm has already done it once before, bringing back Hayden Christensen as Anakin and casting Ariana Greenblatt as a young Clone Wars-era Ahsoka Tano.

Because it’s been 18 years since we last saw Rotta, it tracks that Lucasfilm likely wants to give audiences a brief refresher on the son of Jabba and his history. Likewise, a live-action flashback would definitely be a way to keep longtime Star Wars fans familiar with Rotta excited and invested.

It would also help tie together different corners of the franchise. With Rotta now appearing as an adult in the present timeline, revisiting his past with brand-new Clone Wars moments could add meaningful context to his role. Either way, it’s going to be very exciting to see how this new Baby Rotta model gets used in the upcoming Star Wars movie.

The Mandalorian & Grogu releases in theaters on May 22nd from Lucasfilm.