Debuting 18 years ago as a living plot device in 2008’s animated Clone Wars movie, Jabba’s son is being reintroduced many years later as a fully grown adult. Here’s what we know about Rotta the Hutt so far, and why we think the son of Jabba is going to surprise us all when The Mandalorian & Grogu releases in May.
Jeremy Allen White Is Voicing Rotta In The Mandalorian & Grogu’s (Son of Jabba)
Rotta first appeared in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars as the kidnapped son of Jabba the Hutt, caught in the middle of the Republic and Separatists seeking favor with Jabba to access the hyperspace lanes under his control. Rotta’s rescue served as the fateful first mission for Anakin Skywalker and his newly assigned Padawan, Ahsoka Tano.
Now, Rotta is set to make his live action debut with Jeremy Allen White providing the voice for the now adult Hutt. Set during the New Republic Era, it’s been 30 years in the Star Wars galaxy since we last saw Rotta, but only about five years since his father was killed by Leia Organa in Return of the Jedi.
In trailers for The Mandalorian & Grogu, Rotta is much larger and more physically imposing compared to Jabba, appearing to be a capable warrior competing in various gladitorial battles. The trailers have also teased that Rotta will face off against Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin in the arena at some point in the new Star Wars movie.
Keeping all that in mind, some new reveals and updates from The Mandalorian & Grogu director Jon Favreau suggest that Rotta’s role in the upcoming movie will be bigger than a mere cameo.
Star Wars Theory: Rotta Will Have A Bigger Mandalorian & Grogu Role Than We Think
A recent interview with Jon Favreau from Empire may be hinting at Rotta’s deeper importance in The Mandalorian & Grogu. While discussing Jabba’s son, Favreau spoke on what it means for Rotta to carry such a notorious family name in the galaxy, especially in the wake of Jabba’s death:
“When you’re trying to establish yourself and your name is famous, when you’re Jabba the Hutt’s kid, what does that do? How has that affected his trajectory? I get a kick out of that.”
Keeping that in mind, Favreau’s new comments definitely suggest that Rotta being Jabba’s heir comes with an understandable set of expectations from the galaxy’s other Hutt crime lords that make up the Hutt Grand Council, one of the Star Wars galaxy’s most powerful crime syndicates.
When you combine Favreau’s new comments with Jeremy Allen White’s from a few months ago where he confirmed that Rotta will be spending a good amount of time “running around” with Din Djarin and Grogu, it feels safe to theorize that Rotta might not be the full-on villain his father was during the original trilogy of Star Wars films.
Based on the trailer, we know that Din Djarin will be facing the Hutts directly, specifically Jabba’s twin cousins, who’ve already tried once to claim Jabba’s holdings on Tatooine (seen in The Book of Boba Fett). Perhaps they’d like to see Rotta out of the picture, motivating an alliance between Djarin and the son of Jabba?
At any rate, I do think we should be expecting some big surprises from Jeremy Allen White’s Rotta when The Mandalorian & Grogu releases in just a couple of months. By no means do I think it’ll be just a brief, inconsequential cameo.
The Mandalorian & Grogu releases in theaters May 22nd from Lucasfilm.