Star Wars is "about families," so The Mandalorian and Grogu will explore what it's like for Rotta to be Jabba the Hutt's son, says Jon Favreau

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The Mandalorian and Grogu is bringing Star Wars back to the big screen after seven long years. And, according to director and writer Jon Favreau, like much of the saga, fathers and sons are at the heart of the story. But it's not just the (surrogate) father and son you're thinking of.

Speaking in the new issue of SFX Magazine, on sale 22 April, Favreau notes that his love for deep-cut Star Wars characters led him to explore the effect that being the son of Jabba the Hutt might have on Rotta – Jeremy Allen White's disturbingly buff space slug.

“Dave Filoni would always joke that I only get to play with the toys that my older siblings don’t want!” Favreau tells SFX. “So I had an Ugnaught [Kuiil] and the IG-88 [IG-11] in The Mandalorian. But I like the deep-cut characters where you can do something with them to make them more dimensionalised and cool. It’s like an untapped resource to me. With Rotta, you start to ask what it’s like to be Jabba’s son? How does that affect a character?"

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Jabba, of course, is dead at this point in the Star Wars timeline, after being strangled by Leia in Return of the Jedi. Rotta, meanwhile, has evidently channelled that grief (or relief?) into becoming the buffest Hutt in the galaxy, and is set to square off with Din Djarin in gladiatorial combat. Alongside a final trailer, footage shown to CinemaCon attendees also confirmed that Mando is on a mission to save the Hutt formerly known as Stinky from rival gangsters, per Variety.

"I remember it was really cool in Creed, when they were asking what it was like to be Apollo Creed’s son, to be in the shadow of such an iconic cultural figure," Favreau continues. "I think there’s room for exploring what that really means, because at the end of the day, as much as Star Wars is about visuals, locations and vehicles, it’s also about relationships and it’s about families.”

The Mandalorian and Grogu will pick up where season 3 of the Disney Plus show left off, but Favreau has confirmed he had to "start from scratch" with this big-screen outing, and abandon previous season 4 plans. "You can't just take those scripts and turn them into a movie," Favreau says. "There were a lot of characters, it assumed you'd watched the whole show, and it was teeing up what was happening moving into [the second season of ] Ahsoka."

The Mandalorian and Grogu releases in theaters on May 22. The first season of Maul – Shadow Lord is currently airing on Disney Plus. For a look further ahead, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for a rundown of everything the galaxy far, far away has in store.

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Jordan FarleyManaging Editor, Entertainment

I'm the Managing Editor, Entertainment here at GamesRadar+, overseeing the site's film and TV coverage. In a previous life as a print dinosaur, I was the Deputy Editor of Total Film magazine, and the news editor at SFX magazine. Fun fact: two of my favourite films released on the same day - Blade Runner and The Thing.

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