'Gremlins' director criticised by 'Star Wars' fans for saying Baby Yoda was a copy of Gizmo the Mogwai

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Star Wars fans online are not too happy with the remarks made by horror and science fiction filmmaker, Joe Dante regarding the galaxy's most lovable character, Grogu.

This is after the director told The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday that Grogu, or better known by the online moniker Baby Yoda, was a shameless copy of Gizmo the Mogwai from the horror comedy franchise, Gremlins.

Gizmo first debuted in 1984 on Dante’s classic horror flick Gremlins and also appeared in the second movie of the franchise Gremlins 2: The New Batch which was released in 1990.

Baby Yoda first debuted in the pilot episode of the first season of The Mandalorian, a Star Wars streaming series which first aired in 2019.

The adorable creature which had won the hearts of many was given the name ‘Baby Yoda’ by fans due to it being the same species as the Jedi Master Yoda which made his debut in the 1980’s Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back.

It was only after the second season of The Mandalorian that the showrunners reveal Baby Yoda’s name to be ‘Grogu’.

"I think the longevity of (the film) is really key to this one character (Gizmo), who is essentially like a baby.

"Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think,” Dante said.

As news of the remarks by Dante circulated online, Star Wars fans have been riling up the comment and reply section on Facebook and Twitter to point out that the Gremlins’ film actually came after Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back.

"That’s certainly a way to narc on oneself for shamelessly copying Master Yoda back in the 80’s,” Twitter user Christian Johannesen tweeted.

"Neat. Gremlins came out in 1984. Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980. Return of the Jedi came out in 1983. So, we got mischievous Yoda and the Ewoks ahead of Gizmo,” commented user Justin Kalman on Facebook.

"Lol, did he pull a muscle reaching that far, because that's a stretch,” commented Facebook user Martin Strain.

However, there were also fans who admitted that there was a resemblance between both characters.

"This is low key correct but only because of (the) move set. The little dudes move and act the same way. I never would have noticed before but it's super true,” Facebook user Lawrence Green commented.

"Yes, there was a Yoda before Gizmo but there was no baby Yoda before Gizmo. It is super similar, possibly just really influenced and not a rip off. It is cool though and it worked. Everybody loves both characters!” commented Brandon Tardif on Facebook.

The remarks on Grogu by Dante came as he was talking about the return of the Gremlins franchise.

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, an animated series, is set to hit HBO Max later this year.

The series voice casts include The Book of Boba Fett actress Ming-Na Wen as well as Jurassic World: Dominion’s BD Wong along with James Hong from 2022’s Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Aside from that, Grogu will also be returning for the third season of the highly anticipated Disney+ series, The Mandalorian although no release dates have not been disclosed yet.