The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White just joined upcoming Star Wars movie The Mandalorian & Grogu as Rotta the Hutt. So, who exactly is Rotta the Hutt, according to franchise lore?
Who Is Jeremy Allen White’s Rotta the Hutt in Star Wars Canon?
Rotta the Hutt is Jabba the Hutt’s son. He debuted in 2008 animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where he appears as a baby Huttlet kidnapped by Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress. Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano ultimately rescue Rotta and return him to his crime boss father, defusing an intergalactic crisis. Rotta subsequently makes a brief cameo in Season 3 of the Clone Wars TV series, during a scene set in Jabba’s Palace. This marks Rotta’s last appearance in Star Wars‘ current, post-Disney canon (although he’s mentioned at least twice in other Clone Wars-related media).
Related: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 2 Includes a Shout-Out to One of Andor’s Biggest Locations
The upshot of this is that White and The Mandalorian & Grogu director Jon Favreau have plenty of room to develop Rotta further. After all, Rotta will have aged considerably when he shows up in the new movie. There are at least 31 years between The Clone Wars film and The Mandalorian & Grogu, according to the official Star Wars timeline. As such, White’s incarnation of Rotta should be in his early to mid-30s – a fully formed person, not a blank slate bubba. Will he be every bit as wicked as his old man? We’ll have to wait and see!
Will Jeremy Allen White Speak English or Huttese in The Mandalorian & Grogu?
Of course, the big question many fans will jump to next is what language Jeremy Allen White speaks in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Think about it: every Hutt who’s appeared in a live-action Star Wars movie or TV show has spoken in the Hutt’s native dialect, Huttese. Rotta’s dad, Jabba, communicates exclusively in Huttese in The Phantom Menace, A New Hope, and Return of the Jedi. So do the Twins in The Book of Boba Fett. Does this mean Lucasfilm has hired one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation to burble a made-up language accompanied by subtitles?
Related: Where To Watch the Star Wars Holiday Special
Probably not. While Hutts seemingly prefer to use their native tongue, Star Wars canon is pretty clear that the overgrown slugs can speak Basic (the name for English in a galaxy far, far away). Notably, Rotta’s great-uncle, Ziro, speaks basic in The Clone Wars with a genteel, Southern-sounding lilt. So, it stands to reason that The Mandalorian & Grogu will likewise depict Rotta as fluent in Basic, allowing White to deliver his lines in English.
The Mandalorian & Grogu arrives in cinemas on May 22, 2026.
Published: Dec 11, 2024 07:23 am