Jeremy Allen White has joined the new Star Wars film The Mandalorian & Grogu as the voice of Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta the Hutt.
Though this is his first romp into sci-fi, Jeremy Allen White is not new to Hollywood. He played Philip “Lip” Gallagher in the long-running Showtime series Shameless but didn’t really become a big name in the industry until his role as Chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto in The Bear rose him to stardom. He's won two Emmys and two Golden Globes for that role alone, so needless to say, he’s quite a good actor. Since The Bear, he’s appeared in the sports drama Iron Claw alongside Zac Efron and is currently filming a movie titled Deliver Me From Nowhere about the love of Bruce Springsteen. All that is to say, there’s no need to worry about Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of Rotta; he’s a very talented actor and he’s sure to do it justice.
This is some of the first news we’ve gotten about the new Mando-verse film since it was announced earlier this year and it has huge implications for the plot of the movie. Jon Favreau, the creator of The Mandalorian and the director of The Mandalorian & Grogu, has been incredibly tight-lipped about the movie's plot and who we can expect to see in it. However, after hearing this casting announcement we can make some guesses. As we saw in The Book of Boba Fett two of Jabba’s cousins attempted to gain control of his empire after he was strangled to death by Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi. However, they were ultimately defeated and kicked out by Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, and now Boba resides at the top of Jabba’s old empire. With the return of Rotta, could he perhaps be trying to steal back his father’s throne? Who’s to say? However, with the Hutts playing a role in the new film, it’s not a far stretch to say that we should expect to see at least a brief return of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand.
Though we can speculate, we can’t know anything for certain until the movie is released. With the current timeline, the film is set to premiere May 22, 2026, however, knowing Disney this is subject to change. Filming wrapped up earlier this month and as the crew preps for post-production we can expect to see some more updates such as this one soon, so be sure to keep an eye out.