Grogu has appeared in every episode of the first three seasons, except " Chapter 15: The Believer". He was created by The Mandalorian creator and showrunner Jon Favreau based upon his desire to explore the mystery around Yoda and his species. The character was further developed in early conversations between Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni, and the character's imagery was defined by concept artist Christian Alzmann. Grogu is mostly a work of animatronics and puppetry, although accentuated with computer-generated imagery. a b Kain, Erik (December 27, 2019). "Star Wars 'The Mandalorian' Episode 8 Recap And Review: A Terrific Season Finale". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019 . Retrieved January 18, 2020. Vox writer Allegra Frank said Grogu made The Mandalorian "instantly more memorable and evocative", and alleviated the solitude and tension that might otherwise have surrounded the show's protagonist. [12] Carolyn Giardina of The Hollywood Reporter said Grogu helped The Mandalorian not only achieve critical and commercial success, but also impact the cultural zeitgeist. [10] Beyond the show, other writers have described the character as a key component in the success of Disney's rollout of the Disney+ streaming service. [4] [140] [141] Julia Alexander of The Verge wrote: "There's no question that Baby Yoda is driving interest in Disney+". [140] Some critics called Grogu one of the best and most lauded new Star Wars characters in recent memory, [114] [137] while others said the character had made the Star Wars franchise relevant to an even wider range of audiences. [4] [74] a b c d e f g h i Vasquez, Zach (December 3, 2019). "Big deal, he is: how Baby Yoda became 2019's biggest new character". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019 . Retrieved December 9, 2019.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Breznican, Anthony (November 26, 2019). "Baby Yoda Has Conquered the World". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019 . Retrieved January 27, 2020. The voice and sounds of Grogu were created by sound editors Matthew Wood (left) and David Acord (right). Gartenberg, Chaim (January 17, 2020). "Disney is hunting down the most popular Baby Yoda toys on Etsy". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020 . Retrieved February 27, 2020.

a b c Pham, Danny (December 31, 2019). "The Mandalorian: 10 Most Interesting Characters In Season 1". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020 . Retrieved January 20, 2020. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Keegan, Rebecca (December 19, 2019). "In Baby Yoda, Hollywood Sees Its Past, Present and Meme-able Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019 . Retrieved December 29, 2019.

Agar, Chris (November 20, 2019). "The Mandalorian Hiding Baby Yoda For So Long Was A Marketing Mistake". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020 . Retrieved February 27, 2020. a b Carras, Christi (January 17, 2020). "Jon Favreau shares photo of George Lucas cradling Baby Yoda. No caption needed". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020 . Retrieved February 27, 2020. Grogu was kept secret and was deliberately withheld from The Mandalorian 's prerelease marketing and merchandise plans due to the risk that details about the character could leak before the show aired. [10] [5] [109] [110] Favreau said of this plan: "I think that part of what people really value is to be surprised and delighted, and I think that's becoming all too rare." [10] Favreau has credited Donald Glover as the source of that strategy. While developing The Mandalorian, Favreau was simultaneously directing Glover in the photorealistic remake of The Lion King (2019). While discussing music and pop culture, Glover told Favreau that people enjoy being surprised, because true surprises had become much less common in the Internet era. As an example, Glover cited the excitement generated by the sudden releases of surprise albums by singer and songwriter Beyoncé. [5] [111] Favreau felt keeping Grogu a secret until he was revealed would allow fans to connect with the character and "discover the story as it was unfolding". The leadership and marketing team at the Walt Disney Company was supportive of this strategy. [10] Screeners of the pilot episode were not distributed to reviewers to avoid leaks about Grogu, [112] and the official Lucasfilm and Star Wars social media accounts did not start posting messages about Grogu until about a week after the series debuted, to avoid spoiling the character's debut as much as possible. [112] [113] [114] Themes [ edit ] Parenting and fatherhood [ edit ] Swallow 2020, 8:25–8:33 Swallow: "I was thrilled when they brought him in that little bag for the scene that I got to have with it. I just wanted to snuggle it." Oller, Jacob (November 25, 2019). "The Mandalorian's Werner Herzog fell 'in love' with Baby Yoda, forgot it wasn't real during shoot". Syfy. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019 . Retrieved January 27, 2020.Werner Herzog particularly enjoyed filming scenes with the animatronic Grogu puppet, which he called "heartbreakingly beautiful". [79] [96] [97] Chow said directing the scene between Herzog and Grogu in "Chapter 3: The Sin" was "one of the weirdest" moments of her career, [66] [87] [98] because he had so much affection for the puppet and was interacting with it like it was a living being. [87] [98] [99] She said: "I literally think that he had forgotten that it's not a real-live creature and he had fallen in love with it." [98] Herzog strongly urged the Mandalorian filmmakers to use the puppet for the character and not CGI. While filming one scene, Dave Filoni began to remove the puppet to shoot an alternate take, in case they decided to use a CGI version of Grogu in its place. Herzog passionately urged him not to do so and to remain committed to the animatronics and puppetry, saying: "You are cowards. Leave it. Leave it." [81] [82] Esposito has also said having an actual Grogu puppet to perform against has been beneficial for the cast, because "that space allows all of us to be so wowed by its presence". [80] Rougeau, Michael (November 27, 2020). "The Mandalorian Just Did A Major Baby Yoda Reveal". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020 . Retrieved November 27, 2020. a b c Giardina, Carolyn (January 29, 2020). " 'Star Wars' Sound Editors on Using Elephant Screams for Battles and Creating Baby Yoda's Voice". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020 . Retrieved February 26, 2020. Mizokami, Kyle (February 21, 2020). "The U.S. Army Has a Tank Named 'Baby Yoda' ". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020 . Retrieved March 14, 2020. a b c Hibberd, James (December 18, 2019). "What if Baby Yoda is secretly evil?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019 . Retrieved March 1, 2020.

a b Bonomolo, Cameron (February 21, 2020). "Star Wars: The Mandalorian's Giancarlo Esposito Teases Scenes With Baby Yoda in Season 2". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020 . Retrieved March 3, 2020.O'Neill, Mae Harrington (March 2, 2020). "Baby Yoda Chia Pets Are Coming Soon". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020 . Retrieved March 3, 2020. Collins, Hannah (January 4, 2020). "Somali and the Forest Spirit Will Fill The Mandalorian Hole in Your Life". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020 . Retrieved March 1, 2020. a b c Jones, Mike (December 20, 2019). "Baby Yoda's Popularity Widely Exceeded Disney's Expectations". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019 . Retrieved February 27, 2020.