The Mandalorian: Grogu's Voice Actor And First Words - Looper Staff Predicts
Grogu does a lot of things on "The Mandalorian," which is currently airing its third season. He waddles around. He makes squeaky noises. He eats blue cookies and tries to eat other things, like fellow creatures. What he doesn't do, though, is speak. Yet.
Traveling through a galaxy far, far away alongside Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), the titular Mandalorian, Grogu — who was dubbed "Baby Yoda" before his real name was revealed — hasn't gotten around to full sentences yet (to be fair, he's still young, being only 50 years old). So, what will happen when he does start talking? What will his first word be, and what will he sound like? This is a big question, so naturally, the Looper staff is here to try and figure it out. There are endless possibilities for which actor will be brought into the show to eventually voice this "Star Wars" cutie-pie, and we've got some thoughts about who it should be, from Oscar winners to TV vampires to one of Grogu's own co-stars.
Kieran Fisher — Ray Winstone would ensure that Grogu commands respect
Grogu won't be innocent forever. He has some trauma to unpack following Order 66 and it's only a matter of time until he lashes out. Maybe he'll stay true to his good Jedi roots and focus his anger on the Galactic Republic. Or maybe, just maybe, he'll realize that life is cruel, and become a self-serving career criminal. I hope it's the latter, and Ray Winstone is the perfect actor to voice the critter.
Ray Winstone commands respect. When Winstone speaks, people quiver with fear at his every word. He's a proper tough geezer, but he's managed to turn these hard-man sensibilities into a poetic art form. Underneath it all, however, Winstone is a big teddy bear who can evoke sympathy and create laughter (he did star in "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" after all, and that movie is both tragic and hilarious). Grown-up Grogu needs such traits.
I want to see a gritty Grogu when he starts speaking. I want to believe that he's experienced the proverbial poop that life has thrown at him. I want him to be feared and respected in equal measure. I want him to grow stubble and growl at people while he necks a few pints of space lager. I want to watch him smoke cigarettes and shout expletives at people with a type of viciousness that can only be conveyed through a cockney London accent. At the same time, I wouldn't be opposed to Grogu having Ray Winstone's Boston accent from "The Departed," because that twang also exudes strong qualities.
The "Star Wars" franchise has always cast British actors in prominent roles, so casting Winstone as Grogu isn't even out of the realm of possibility. Just freaking do it already, Disney.
Nina Starner — Dame Helen Mirren is already great at everything, why not Grogu?
Listen. Just hear me out. Dame Helen Mirren is amazing. She can do basically anything, from play Queen Elizabeth II to show up in the "Fast and the Furious" franchise. She is, to date, the only person to win the Triple Crown of Acting in two different continents (the United States and United Kingdom). Also, she should voice Grogu on "The Mandalorian."
Just consider how funny, how adorable, how incredibly unexpected it would be to see Grogu open his little mouth only for the polished British accent of Dame Helen Mirren to come out. Grogu could look up at Din and say, "Can I have a spot of tea?" or "I need to go to the loo" or some other little Britishism. It would be totally bizarre and kind of completely wrong, but also ... sort of exactly right? Let Dame Helen Mirren have some fun. She's earned it. She was just in "Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods," which I can only assume she was forced to do at gunpoint or something. Let her voice the cutest little baby in the "Star Wars" universe. Let Dame Helen Mirren voice Grogu.
Pauli Poisuo - No one is better at bugging Pedro Pascal than his The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey
Look, I know the smart money says that when the artist formerly known as Baby Yoda starts talking, it'll be in cutesy, bubbly tones that fit the character's considerable adorableness factor. Thing is, it's never really like that with children, is it? As anyone who's ever met a young 'un should know, every time they open their mouth is unadulterated chaos. Why wouldn't this apply to someone who hails from a species that's yet to figure out proper sentence structure?
Grogu's a kid. Grogu is going to yell, complain, throw fits, goof around, and challenge daddy. Grogu is going to follow Din Djarin everywhere and annoy him with sixteen billion questions, which Mando will stoically endure like the good dad that he is (while secretly longing for the peace and quiet he had when he fell in that Living Waters chasm). Now, if only there was a performer out there who has plenty of experience annoying a dad-mode Pedro Pascal. Sadly, that's an incredibly niche demand, so it's unlikely that anyone'll ever fit the bill. Seriously, I've looked everywhere and there really is no one who comes to mind. No person at all whose most famous role has been opposite Pascal, and whose generational chemistry with him has been compared to Grogu and Mando from the very beginning.
No siree. Can't be done. It's probably best for Grogu to stay silent forever, since there's no way the internet would have a field day if the character opened its tiny maw to greet Din Djarin with Bella Ramsey's voice.
Tom Meisfjord — Grogu should say 'make it so' in the tones of Sir Patrick Stewart
Let's talk seriously for a minute, you and me. If Grogu opened his seafoam pistachio shell mouth and the first thing we heard was Sir Patrick Stewart, OBE, saying "Make it so," with the exact timbre and gravitas of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, it wouldn't just be surreal. It wouldn't just be cute, or just startlingly baritone, or just hilarious when Mando hears Grogu's voice and drops his fruit cup out of surprise at what just happened. It would, most importantly, confirm what you and I have suspected for years — that Disney doesn't care about "Star Wars." And my, oh my, just imagine how freeing that truth would be.
From that point on, Disney can do anything they want with the franchise. Time travel stories? Why not? That deepfake Mark Hamill face from "The Mandalorian" Season 2 finale didn't disturb you enough? Stick it on everyone — make a whole town of Hamills. Call it Hamill's Hamlet. Bring Darth Vader back and have him learn the true meaning of Christmas. Who cares? Not Disney, that's who. People like Baby Yoda. Let's do like "Muppet Babies" did and make a whole show about infant versions of the characters, chronology be damned. Baby Chewbacca windshield decals are going to sell 10 billion units. And all these characters can be voiced by Patrick Stewart, as well, because he truly has the finest voice in any galaxy, as seasons upon seasons of playing Picard have proven — so if this franchise is going to flame out, it might as well do it with Stewart's voice gently guiding us to our doom.
The point is, once that happens, it'll establish the time since Disney took over "Star Wars" as the dotted line where whoever owns the property next can amputate the canon and start fresh. Look at that, I just undid "Rise of Skywalker." You're welcome.
Mike Bedard — Matt Berry could make Grogu talk like they do in Tucson, Arizona
Every so often on Twitter, someone asks their followers, "What's the best line reading ever in a TV show?" For some reason, people respond with characters not played by the great Matt Berry. Best known for playing larger-than-life, hilarious characters on "The IT Crowd" and "What We Do in the Shadows," Berry has a true way with words, elevating simple sentences into instantly iconic lines. If you've never heard him say, "You really are the most devious bastard in New York City," you need to do yourself a favor. And if Grogu's going to say anything, it needs to be from Matt Berry.
Now, if you're up to date on "Star Wars" lore, you know Berry voiced 8D8 in "The Book of Boba Fett," but it's safe to say no one remembers that show aside from the weird diversion into "The Mandalorian" Season 2.5, so Berry's probably safe to get another shot. And why shouldn't it be Grogu? The way Berry adds certain inflections to words that seem out of place wouldn't be weird at all for this particular species. Considering how Yoda talks, Grogu could absolutely pronounce things however he wants.
In "What We Do in the Shadows," Berry puts his own flair on everything from pronouncing Manhattan as "Manahatta" to adding a tilde to "Arizona." Wouldn't you want to hear how he would make Grogu pronounce "Tatooine" or any of the other planets in the galaxy? And with "The Mandalorian" diving deeper into "Star Wars" lore, there are countless other funny names for him to say. Imagine the first words coming out of Grogu's mouth being Matt Berry pronouncing "This is the way, Din Djarin." It could heal the world.
Rick Stevenson — It'll probably be Frank Oz because Star Wars doesn't know when to quit
Hey there "Star Wars" heads, fellow lifetime fan here. You might think an article about lil' Grogu's first words would be a weird place to rail against the Easter egg industrial complex that the franchise has become. But uh, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Whoops.
You know who's fantastic? Frank Oz. Remember when Yoda first showed up in "The Empire Strikes Back?" That was pretty awesome, right? "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." Chills! Downright Shakespeare! It's like poetry — it rhymes! Do I think Lucasfilm would actually bring Oz back to voice Grogu? Probably not. But it's the kind of thing Disney just loves to do now, so I certainly wouldn't rule it out. I mean, Grogu's already a quinquagenarian. Who's to say he couldn't have some wise sage rasp? Thanks to Yaddle's appearance in "Tales of the Jedi," we now know that Yoda's famous backward-speak is actually just a Yoda thing, not something his whole species does. Ya know, because he's a little freak? But hey, the fan response to that was a little confused, and Disney can't have that, so let's give Grogu some good ol' object-subject-verb and bring Oz back to do it.
"Remember that thing?" is kind of what "Star Wars" does best these days, so odds are we'll get a reference in Grogu's first words too. It would be cool if he spoke the Mandalorian Creed or said something emotional to his dad, but it'll probably be "size matters not," or "that is why you fail," or "remember when 'Star Wars' had original ideas?"
Except for "Andor" of course. "Andor" was awesome.
Nick Staniforth — Pedro Pascal but in his 'Waking Up' voice from SNL
Whether it's fungal-infected killers or inter-planetary antagonists, Pedro Pascal has recently had a lot going on as television's hardest-working father figure. And yet, after pulling double shifts in "The Last of Us" and "The Mandalorian," he's made it look easy. With that in mind, maybe it's time to give him more of a challenge and play two parts in a show he's already in? One where we barely see his face and, as a result, could allow him to lend his voice to the little scamp that rides around in an egg all season?
Think about it. No one knows Grogu, that parsnip-eared little tyke, better than the man that has been with him since the beginning. What better choice than have Pascal voice Grogu, as well? Picture it, if you will, dear reader, that in the final episode of this season, Grogu's licorice black eyes stare into that T-shaped visor and utter words that will go down in "Star Wars" history along with classics like "May the force will be you" and "I am your father." A heartfelt response that'll feel iconic all on its own but slightly meta in its origin. When Din looks down at his favorite potato-sack-wearing sprog and says, "This is the way," Grogu looks up and says... "Let's just put a pin in thaaa?"
That interesting inflection I'm referring to is from Pascal's voice during his "Saturday Night Live" sketch, where he played a man waking from a coma sounding ever so slightly off. In that scenario, it's absolutely ridiculous, of course. In a beloved franchise where another member of Grogu's species talks like he's reading from a Scrabble board, it's totally acceptable.
Admittedly, working two roles in one show might have its issues, but should he really need to get into the headspaah of Grogu, he can have someone else put on the armor for a scene or 10 so that he can get the voice just raaah. What? Like it hasn't been done already?
Melissa Lemieux — Christopher Walken would add sinister power to Grogu's cuteness
Children. The Force. Can you ...feel the force?
If you heard this in Christopher Walken's iconic voice, or perhaps have fond memories of him parodying his own intense reputation in "The Simpsons," then you know the notion of him voicing Grogu would be a hilarious, and center-of-left-field, idea. And hey, he's a brilliant actor, someone who can create credibly lovable people and completely awful ones with a twitch of his eyebrow. Why not add a little bit of danger to Grogu, courtesy of a gravely Walken voice?
That wouldn't be the only benefit of hiring Walken for the role. His heavy, careful phrasing would be wild coming out of Grogu's tiny green mouth, sure — but the guy is one heck of an actor, and could easily make audiences fall in love with his take on the talented by naïve trainee Jedi. He could handle heavy memories, like Grogu's memories of Order 66, and provide a delightfully campy twist to Grogu's lighter moments with a snap of the finger. After all, if a Walken impression is good enough for Twinkle the Marvel Horse, it's good enough for everyone's favorite little green guy.