‘The Mandalorian’ Writer-Director Shares George Lucas’ Main Concern About Baby Yoda

“The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” creator Jon Favreau delivered the ultimate “Star Wars” gift to fans in January 2020 by posting a photo of Baby Yoda (or Grogu as he’s officially named) with franchise creator George Lucas on set. Lucas was pictured embracing the Baby Yoda puppet with delight, but it turns out he had some concerns with including the fan favorite character in “The Mandalorian.”

According to the just-published “Star Wars” book “The Art of The Mandalorian: Season 2” (via Esquire), Lucas shared his biggest Baby Yoda concern with franchise favorite Dave Filoni during the series’ development. Filoni is an executive producer on “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” for which he’s also written and directed several episodes. He’s also a part of the “Star Wars” brain trust having created “Star Wars: Rebels.”

More from Variety

• 'The Book of Boba Fett': How Episode 5 Expands the 'Star Wars' Universe and Resets Fan Expectations

• Gallic Startup Dark Matters Launches First Ever Virtual Production Facility in France

• Jonah Hill Says Leonardo DiCaprio Forced Him to Watch 'The Mandalorian,' but 'I Didn't Give a F---'

“I had a talk with George, at one point, about the Child,” Filoni reveals in the book. “His main concern was that the kid has to have a proper amount of training.”

It wasn’t until “The Book of Boba Fett” that Lucas’ concern was taken care of in the “Star Wars” universe. “The Mandalorian” Season 2 ended with Grogu heading off with Luke Skywalker to train as a Jedi. Fans were surprised to see this storyline continued in “Boba Fett” and not saved for “The Mandalorian” Season 3. The sixth episode of “Boba Fett” depicts Grogu training as a Jedi under Luke, although the episode ends with Grogu’s decision to abandon Jedi training in favor of reuniting with Din Djarin (the eponymous Mandalorian).

Grogu is no longer training with Luke Skywalker, but he learned plenty of Jedi skills as evidenced in the “Boba Fett” finale. Grogu uses the Force to destroy a Scorpenek annihilator droid and to put a Rancor beast to sleep. The finale ends with Grogu and Din Djarin venturing into space to an unknown destination, setting up the third season of “The Mandalorian.”

“The Art of The Mandalorian: Season 2” is now available for purchase. “The Mandalorian” will return for Season 3 at a later date on Disney Plus.

Best of Variety

• 2022 Oscars Predictions: The Collective - Which Actors, Artisans and Movies Will Win the Academy Award?

• What's Coming to Disney Plus in February 2022

• Everything Coming to Netflix in February 2022

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.