THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU TV Spot Features Rotta the Hutt in Action
A new TV spot for The Mandalorian and Grogu has arrived ahead of the movie’s theatrical release tomorrow, and it gives fans a much better look at Rotta the Hutt in action.
The longtime Star Wars character, voiced by Jeremy Allen White, looks like he’s going to be far more dangerous than anyone expected.
Up to this point, Rotta has mostly been seen in arena-style footage from the marketing, but this latest promo changes that. The spot features Jabba the Hutt’s surviving heir charging into battle against Imperial Remnant Stormtroopers. It’s also the first real sample of White’s vocal performance as the character.
Rotta’s inclusion in the movie is a fun deep-cut pull from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but I think it’s pretty clear that Lucasfilm has bigger plans for him than fans may have assumed.
During a recent interview with ScreenRant, Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni talked about revisiting the character and bringing an adult Rotta into live-action storytelling.
"I remember being with Henry Gilroy when he was writing Clone Wars when we first started out, and he pitched this idea of this child Hutt, and I was like, 'Okay, I don't know, maybe sure let's try that.’
“And then years later, he comes in, and he's pitching a baby Yoda, and I'm like, 'What is going on where I'm always somehow conveyance for these child characters.'"
Filoni went on to explain how unexpected Rotta’s return really was: "Of all the things, because we talked about so many things, what would be in Star Wars, what could we pick, what could we bring, like you were saying, the Ugnaughts, like take something.
“I never thought Rotta would come up. I mean, I've often wondered about him, and where he's gone on, but when you were like, 'Hey, I think Rotta, I think there's a thing here.'"
What surprised me most about the movie is just how important Rotta actually is to the larger story. His role is bigger than expected, and the character arc attached to him opens the door to some very interesting possibilities for future Star Wars projects.
Set after the fall of the Empire, The Mandalorian and Grogu follows Din Djarin, played once again by Pedro Pascal, as he continues navigating a galaxy still crawling with dangerous Imperial warlords.
While the New Republic struggles to maintain order, Din and Grogu are pulled into another large-scale conflict that looks much more cinematic than anything the Disney+ series attempted.
The film is directed by Jon Favreau and also stars Sigourney Weaver alongside White. The movie is produced by Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Filoni, and Ian Bryce, with music from Ludwig Göransson.
The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters on May 22.