Every Star Wars fan probably remembers that little baby Hutt from The Clone Wars movie — Jabba’s kid that Ahsoka Tano carried around in her backpack. Yeah, Rotta. It’s been years since we last saw him, and he just disappeared from the story. I’ve always wondered where he went, and recently, something new finally gave us an answer.
The Little Hutt Who Started It All
Rotta first showed up in the 2008 animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The whole war between the Republic and the Separatists was raging, and then suddenly this tiny Huttlet became the center of a huge crisis. The Separatists kidnapped him to make the Jedi look like villains. Count Dooku and Ziro the Hutt — Jabba’s uncle — were behind the plan, hoping to break Jabba’s alliance with the Republic.
When the Jedi Council sent Anakin Skywalker and his new Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, to save him, things got chaotic fast. Rotta fell sick during the rescue, and Ahsoka had to take care of him on the move. She carried him in her pack through battles and deserts, calling him “Stinky.” After a long mission and a lot of fighting, they managed to get him back to his father, and Jabba made peace with the Republic.
Rotta’s rescue helped the Republic gain access to Hutt space, which made that story more than just a side quest — it shaped part of the war. But after the movie, he practically vanished from the main timeline.
His Quiet Life After The War
Rotta popped up again for a moment in The Clone Wars episode “Sphere of Influence.” In that scene, Baron Papanoida came to Jabba’s Palace looking for his daughters, and Rotta could be seen nearby, alive and safe. It was short but enough to remind us he was still around.
Then, in the novel Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy, there’s a small but important mention of him. Jabba learns that Darth Maul’s forces are heading to Tatooine and makes a decision that shows how much he values his son:
“Jabba looked at Gorga, who shrugged and nodded. They’d discussed this before, when they decided to simply wait for the raiders to follow Gorga to Tatooine, though Jabba had sent his son Rotta away to make sure the Huttlet would be safe.” — Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
That line confirms Rotta was still alive during Maul’s rise, and Jabba made sure to send him away before trouble hit. After that, though, there was silence again — no shows, no books, nothing.
For years, we only knew that Rotta existed somewhere in the galaxy, hidden from danger.
What The Canon (And Legends) Say About Him
In the current canon, Rotta was born sometime between 24 and 22 BBY. The comic Hyperspace Stories #6 shows Jabba talking about being a new father, even hiring a Wookiee to make plush toys for his baby. He was proud, even sentimental, which says a lot about how much Rotta meant to him.
By the time of Return of the Jedi, Rotta would have been about thirty-six years old. Hutts live for centuries, so he’d still be considered a child — not nearly ready to run a criminal empire. That could explain why he didn’t show up when Jabba died.
In the Legends timeline however, there’s a darker twist. Jabba’s father, Zorba the Hutt, returned after Jabba’s death and claimed there was no heir at all. He even brought a will saying Jabba had no children, trying to take everything for himself. The Hutt courts later said that will was fake, but it raised the question: if Rotta was alive, where was he? Or was he dead like Zorba’s saying?
The Long Silence Ends With The Mandalorian And Grogu (2026)
After almost twenty years of nothing, Rotta’s story is finally continuing. According to the official Star Wars and Wikipedia listings, Jeremy Allen White is playing Rotta the Hutt in The Mandalorian and Grogu, directed by Jon Favreau and written with Dave Filoni. The movie takes place after the fall of the Empire, when the New Republic recruits Din Djarin and Grogu to help deal with the last Imperial warlords.
Rotta’s inclusion confirms that Jabba’s heir survived the chaos after his father’s death. He’s no longer the sick Huttlet from Ahsoka’s backpack — he’s older now, likely a young adult by Hutt standards. We don’t know his exact role yet, but this will be the first live-action appearance of Rotta the Hutt.
From what’s been revealed so far, he might be stepping into his father’s old world — maybe trying to control what’s left of the Hutt syndicates, or maybe dealing with how the New Republic handles former crime families. Either way, his appearance ties The Mandalorian timeline back to the Clone Wars era, closing a major gap in Hutt history.