The Bear star Jeremy Allen White is making the jump to the Star Wars galaxy in The Mandalorian and Grogu, but he won’t exactly be recognizable as the oversized, ax-wielding gladiator Rotta the Hutt. Director Jon Favreau has offered new insight into this imposing character, comparing White’s Rotta to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed from the Creed movies.
Favreau made the comparison in a new interview with Empire Magazine, revealing that Rotta is a fighter who feels the shadow of his father, Jabba the Hutt, looming over him at all times.
“When you’re trying to establish yourself and your name is famous, when you’re Jabba The Hutt’s kid, what does that do?” Favreau said. “How has that affected his trajectory? I get a kick out of that.”
Hardcore Star Wars fans will remember that Rotta originally debuted in the 2008 Clone Wars animated movie, where he was kidnapped by the Separatists and rescued by Ahsoka Tano and her Jedi allies. Decades later, Rotta is now a disturbingly muscular Jutt who has built up a reputation as one of the most fearsome fighters in the galaxy’s gladiator pits. We’re guessing he also doesn’t take kindly to being nicknamed “Stinky” anymore.
White also revealed that he speaks some Huttese in the film, though most of Rotta’s dialogue will be in Basic, unlike his iconic gangster villain father.
“My speaking voice changes [as Rotta],” White said. “It was helpful, of course, to listen to Jabba.”
Previously, new Lucasfilm co-CEO Dave Filoni referred to The Mandalorian and Grogu as a fresh start for the franchise, saying, “We’re in a completely different era of Star Wars now.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu opens in theaters on May 22, 2026. Lucasfilm recently debuted a new trailer that confirms the return of another Clone Wars character and features Baby Greedo.
For more on the Star Wars franchise, brush up on every Star Wars movie and series in development.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
