Along with the titular stars of The Mandalorian and Grogu, there’s a surprising new addition to the big screen Star Wars story — Jeremy Allen White as Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta the Hut.
Yes, The Bear heartthrob is playing the offspring of the giant slug-like gangster, but in a nod to his good looks, he’s not just any Hutt. Rotta is a gladiator and while he’s got the slug body, he’s a much more muscular version than his late father. Rotta comes into play when the New Republic enlists Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu to rescue him in exchange for information from the Hutt clan.
At the Los Angeles premiere on Thursday, director Jon Favreau explained the unlikely casting, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I had met him, he and I have both played chefs on screen and we struck up a conversation,” as Favreau wrote, directed and starred in 2014 film Chef. “I’ve liked his work even before The Bear, in Shameless, so I feel like I’ve watched him really develop and become this really interesting and complex actor who brings a lot of humanity and vulnerability to his roles. And the idea that we could ground this character with the performance with an actor like that I thought was a really interesting opportunity.”
