SPOILER ALERT: ‘The Mandalorian’ reveals Baby Yoda’s real name
December 18, 2020
The viral character known as Baby Yoda now has a real name.
In a new episode of the Star Wars Disney+ series, “The Mandalorian”, it is revealed that Baby Yoda is actually Grogu. When Din Djarin addresses him as such, he makes a little chirping noise of recognition, as if to say, “yep, that’s me, Grogu, a good name that I like a lot!” It’s pronounced “grow-goo,” as in, “Robin Williams in Flubber likes to grow goo.”
Given how little we’ve learned about The Child up until now, it seemed possible — likely, even — that The Mandalorian would keep withholding his backstory indefinitely, dropping nuggets of information now and again but withholding most of the key details.
Prior to “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” viewers knew The Child’s age, the planet on which Mando found him, the fact that the Imperial remnants led by Moff Gideon wanted his blood for some dark purpose, and that he had some powers. Oh, and that he tried to eat everything. This week, however, we get a flood of new information, all of it wrapped inside a compact, visually striking, samurai movie-inspired story that makes the strongest connections yet between this series and the animated Star Wars series for which The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni served as a major creative force.