The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White has joined the Star Wars universe, as he’s set to appear in The Mandalorian & Grogu… as Jabba the Hutt’s son.
You ever see a bit of casting news and think “…what?” That’s exactly what happened to me this morning when I saw that, as reported by Variety, Jeremy Allen White, best known for his role as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto on The Bear, will be playing Rotta the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt’s son, in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Right off the bat this just feels like an incredibly funny casting to me – you’re telling me Disney is going to fork over a buttload of cash to get someone like White, when you’re just going to cover him in prosthetics, and have him speak a bunch of gibberish? Get that bag, white, but it is a surprising choice, though perhaps one reflective of how there always has to be big names in every role these days.
Right now there aren’t really any plot details known about The Mandalorian & Grogu (yes, it’s still called that), so as pointed out by Variety, White portraying Rotta the Hutt is basically the first thing that even roughly tells us what could happen. Presumably the titular Mandalorian will get in some trouble with Rotta somewhere along the line, but past that is anyone’s guess.
The Mandalorian & Grogu was first announced at the start of this year, with White’s casting being the second major addition this year. Back in August it was announced that the iconic Sigourney Weaver had joined the film in an undisclosed role, which still isn’t known at the time of writing. Currently The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to arrive in cinemas May 22, 2026, a whole year and a half away, and it’ll be the first new film in the franchise since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. We’ll just have to wait and see if a galaxy far, far away can still pull audiences in!
