Giancarlo Esposito teases what Moff Gideon wants with Baby Yoda

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Sure, we all want our very own Baby Yoda because he's cute as shit (as well as handy in the event of a Mudhorn attack), but just why does Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) want to get his hands on the adorable child? Although the Imperial didn't appear until late in the series, his desire to obtain the child fueled much of the storyline, and IGN asked the actor at the Television Critics Association press-tour just what his character wants with Baby Yoda. Naturally, Esposito wasn't about to unleash any spoilers, but he did drop a small tease of Moff Gideon's possible intentions.

I know … Like any great leader or scientist — clue, clue, clue — with someone who is advanced in a certain way, yeah, you could want to be their best friend, or you could want to co-opt what is inside them to figure out how to make all of us a little better at humanity. So it's that power and control of a Moff leader who is trying to put the universe back together. But, how does he know everything? How does he know everything that's going on? He's a very interesting character and I'm so honored to be a part of this production.

As Giancarlo Esposito has already said that we'll be seeing more of Moff Gideon next year, I'd imagine that we'll be getting some answers in regard to Moff Gideon's interest in the tiny critter. Either way, Esposito is thrilled to be a part of the STAR WARS franchise, especially as it reminds him of the original movies. "It’s been exciting to be a part of that project because of the iconic nature of it, but even more so, because it has returned me to the Star Wars that I loved," Esposito said. "I saw the first few movies and dropped away because it became more and more in a different vein than what I wanted to be in, but this is the true space western. It gives you room and space and each one is a little bit of a film. So you’re able to tell a story visually and it returns to the original guts of mythology based deeply rooted in Joe Campbell’s mythology which George Lucas was so fond of and which is why he was inclusive of that mythology in Star Wars so I’m pleased to be a part of that."

The second season of The Mandalorian is already underway, which creator/writer Jon Favreau has announced will be hitting Disney+ in Fall 2020.