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Baby Jabba the Hutt Is the Future of Star Wars

Dom Nero

From Esquire

I didn’t believe Disney could pull off a live action Star Wars TV series. Without Luke Skywalker, without John Williams, without the booming opening crawl, without the well-oiled machinery of a traditional blockbuster film production, the Disney+ series seemed like it’d go the way of the Star Wars animated shows–cool, but inconsequential.

You don’t walk out of the theater humming the theme song of Kaz, the star of Star Wars Resistance. No one says, “I want to dress up like Kanan Jarrus this Halloween!” For even some of the biggest Star Wars fans, the name “Ahsoka Tano” sounds one of the backwards words from the Red Room in Twin Peaks.

But then I saw Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. The adorable little monster reminded me of the pet tortoise I had when I was a kid. Utterly helpless yet somehow impervious to all predators. Constantly angry. But also sad. And always full of mystery. You can’t decide whether you want to raise the child or worship it as your new god.

The end of the first episode of The Mandalorian proved–in about five seconds of screen time–that a Star Wars live action series could work. Baby Yoda justified its existence. And Disney Plus should take note. Now that the Skywalker saga has come to an end, Star Wars is in desperate need of a new direction. There are other babies in the Galaxy, Far, Far away. So many of them, actually. It’s time we get to see their stories told.

Baby Jabba the Hutt surfaced on Twitter this weekend. Rendered by 3D artist Leonardo Viti, the disgusting little slug looks every bit as precious and huggable as his green eared counterpart. And as expected, people on Twitter are losing their minds. But like Baby Yoda, Viti’s Jabba the Tot is not only cute. He is filled with questions! Where did he come from? Who are his parents? How did this perfect little happy slug become the evil mob boss that would one day get choked to death on a floating party barge?

There are so many other Star Wars babies though. There’s that Little Greedo in The Phantom Menace. The Ewoks are basically child teddy bears. We saw Boba Fett as a kid in Attack of the Clones. Hell, even Luke and Leia are babies in Revenge of the Sith–we see them for just a second, but it’s among the film’s most affecting moments.

Star Wars is a franchise for kids. Now that the main series is all over, Disney should turn the focus back to the place all the characters began–infancy. There’s Muppets and then there’s Muppets Babies. There’s Looney Tunes and then there’s Tiny Toons. We certainly know Disney loves a merchandising opportunity, so give us Star Wars Babies, you cowards!

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