The Mandalorian's Gotta Have Grogu Speak Someday - When He Does, It'll Divide The Fandom
Voice matters not. Judge Grogu by his voice, would you? Probably. In fact, the whole "Star Wars" fandom probably will. Up until now, the little green merchandising opportunity has gotten by on squeaks and giggles. But if he's to have a complete arc by the time "The Mandalorian" ends, that may not be enough.
The stage has already been set for Grogu's first words. "He is too young to speak the creed," Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) says in Season 3, Episode 4, "and so too young to wear a helmet." When all is said and done, he might do both, and the show certainly seems to be pushing him in that direction.
Grogu is set to become the first Mandalorian Jedi since Tarre Vizsla, which would earn him a mythical place in the "Star Wars" canon. But in order to do that, he has to become a full character. A lot of his material still consist of cute gags and babyish behavior, and that isn't likely to end any time soon. But as Grogu begins real Mandalorian training and partakes in more of the actual story, being a walking plushie is going to be less and less tenable.
Sooner or later, "The Mandalorian" is going to make Grogu speak. And when it does, it'll be almost impossible to make everybody happy.
There is no perfect voice for Grogu
What do you think Grogu sounds like? You might picture a child's voice, some garbled alien speak, or straight-up Yoda. Chances are that none of those sounded quite right, though. Because there's never been a young member of Yoda's species before, there's no precedent for what Grogu should sound like. And after Yaddle — the species' only other known member besides Grogu and Yoda — was revealed to speak completely normally in "Tales of the Jedi," there's also no guarantee that Grogu will talk in Yoda's backward speech pattern.
Giving a tiny baby (50 years old, but still) the object-subject-verb sentences of an ancient wizard would probably throw a lot of people off. But if Grogu doesn't talk like Yoda, anyone who hasn't seen "Tales of the Jedi," which is probably a big chunk of "The Mandalorian" viewers, might be confused.
Giving Grogu a more normal kid's voice could make more sense, then, but that too comes with problems. Make no mistake: The little guy is adorable. But he's adorable in the way that a dog is adorable. Or, you know, a baby. Kids are different. They're annoying sometimes, and they talk back to you, and they have big personalities. Grogu's gotten by to this point on being half a character and half a toy. Unfortunately, that framing makes it a severe challenge to give him a proper voice.
Making Grogu talk could completely change his character
Imagine if Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy" just started saying other words out of nowhere. You would, understandably, be a bit put off. That's not because Groot shouldn't be able to talk, but because the fact that he only says his name is a foundational part of his character. It largely defines how he interacts with the world around him, and it determines the way we watch him in those movies.
Grogu is in largely the same boat (er, spaceship). His whole character is that of a baby — an incredibly powerful Force-sensitive baby sure, but a baby. As such, we watch him in a certain way. "The Mandalorian" has historically been a show with one protagonist, Din, and a fun bonus in Grogu. He's equal parts plot device and Air Bud — a character with personality and narrative impact but very little development.
All that changes the second he starts speaking galactic basic. Suddenly, "The Mandalorian" becomes a two-character show — three if you count the increasingly important Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, it could fundamentally shift the whole dynamic of the show. At the right time and done in the right way, that might be a great move for "The Mandalorian" as a whole, but it's also sure to upset a good portion of the fan base.
Grogu will probably talk, someday, but only a little
The alternative to all this speaking business, of course, is keeping Grogu in the land of chirps and whistles. There have been plenty of great "Star Wars" characters throughout the years — R2-D2, Chewbacca, the incomparable Babu Frik — who communicate without using traditional basic. So why couldn't "The Mandalorian" do the same thing with Grogu? We don't know how old a Yoda-person has to be to speak, so the show could easily avoid the issue entirely by keeping Grogu quiet.
Of course, doing that for too long could bring its own set of problems. In addition to the whole Mandalorian Creed thing that the show has already set up, Grogu will never become a full character until we hear him talk. A big part of the character's appeal is his cuteness, but it's also his potential. Seeing a young version of Yoda leaping around and fighting monsters, even reflecting blaster bolts with the darksaber (though it might be a bit big for his wittle hands), would be a lot of fun. Of course, even if he starts to talk, he's a long way from full maturity.
The most likely course is that Grogu will talk, but only a little. Like a human baby, words probably won't come easily at first. Having him utter a few cute or poignant things would satisfy the urge to see him grow, while also keeping him in the same role in the story. Plus, if he doesn't say full sentences, Disney doesn't have to commit to a voice actor yet. Those little chirps could easily become "dada," and no one would think twice.
Grogu's maturation is better left to future Star Wars stories
The tricky thing about Grogu growing up is that it'll probably take a really long time. We know he isn't involved in the events of the sequel trilogy, and we know that he can barely walk at 50. That suggests a long and slow maturation process — one that likely couldn't be completed within the feasible run of "The Mandalorian."
We also know that Yoda lived to be 900 years old. That sets Grogu up for a long, long tenure in "Star Wars," especially if the rumors of Disney going beyond the sequel trilogy timeline are true. From now on, any time Lucasfilm puts out a new "Star Wars" story set after "The Rise of Skywalker," fans will be looking for Grogu. Toddlers don't exactly make for compelling movie stars, so it would make more sense to do a time jump in the green fella's story and pick up after he's fully grown.
Of course, even then, there are potential issues. Yoda is a character who looms over not just "Star Wars," but pop culture as a whole. The lack of Yaddle in the modern canon can be attributed in part to this fact. How do you make someone who looks just like Yoda operate as a fully independent character? The franchise hasn't really had to figure that out yet. With luck, the folks at Lucasfilm will get some ideas before "The Mandalorian" is over.