“Move over, Grogu,” teases Star Wars Rebels characters.
In addition to Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren, Ahsoka will also feature a live-action, animatronic version of Rebels’ Loth-cats. During an interview with Empire, Hera’s actor Mary Elizabeth Winstead noted how Ahsoka’s Loth-cat “was real.” Likewise, Sabine’s actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo pointed out the “complexity of the design.” According to Bordizzo, Ahsoka’s Loth-cat has a “real skeleton under there.” The Loth-cat will also “snarl and look really cute,” according to Rosario Dawson. Lastly, Bordizzo teased that the show’s Loth-cat could dethrone Grogu as Star Wars’ cutest animatronic creature, warning Baby Yoda to “move over.”
Will Ahsoka's Loth-Cat Be As Much Of A Hit As Grogu?
It seems that the team behind Ahsoka is putting a lot of effort into creating a “real” Loth-cat, going for an animatronic approach rather than a CG one. Previously, Loth-cats had appeared in two The Mandalorian episodes. In both instances, they were created entirely through CGI. Whether Ahsoka’s Loth-cat will follow the main characters like “Baby Yoda” follows the Mandalorian is difficult to say.
It is interesting to notice that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni went for a similar approach when creating “the Child” for The Mandalorian. While Grogu is CGI in a few shots, there is an actual Baby Yoda puppet on set being controlled by a team behind the cameras. Favreau and Filoni also based Grogu’s mannerisms on a pet dog to make him even cutter.
Perhaps what made Grogu such a phenomenon was that audiences were already familiar with Yoda. Therefore, seeing a baby version of the iconic Jedi master, even though they were not the same character, was shockingly exciting. Star Wars Rebels’ Loth-cats are obviously far less popular than Yoda. Still, if Ahsoka can recreate the magic of animated Loth-cats in live-action, Grogu might indeed have competition.
Source: Empire