Who is Grogu aka Baby Yoda's voice in The Mandalorian?

The Mandalorian season 3 is set to premiere on Disney+ on Wednesday, March 1. The 8-episode long show will follow a weekly release pattern until the season finale, which is slated to hit the platform on April 19, 2023.

The cast members include names like current TV heartthrob Pedro Pascal as Mando aka Din Djarin, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, and Katee Sackhoff as former Death Watch member Bo-Katan Kryze, among many others.

The team of characters, however, cannot go without mentioning the very cute Grogu. Nicknamed Baby Yoda and formerly known as The Child, the 50-year-old toddler took everyone’s heart with his bug-eyed look, endearing facial expressions, and cooing sounds since the premiere episode.

Since fans were very curious about the mechanism behind Grogu’s auditory pleasing sounds, the sound editor of Star Wars, David Acord, answered the burning question in a panel discussion, stating that the vocals are “a combination of things."

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Grogu's voice in The Mandalorian mixes animals sounds, baby vocals, and sound editor's input

The “combination of things” that made Grogu’s voice a reality includes animal sounds and real baby vocals. Acord too pitched in “for more of the articulated vocalizations.”

Elaborating on the process, in an earlier interview, the veteran sound editor shared that the first version of Grogu’s vocals was an amalgamation of the sounds made by a bat-eared fox and a kinkajou, adding:

“I was recording animals at this wildlife rescue outside of San Diego. Two of the animals I recorded had this really cute, almost childlike quality to them. One was a bat-eared fox and one is a kinkajou.”

Notably, the bat-earned fox is a native of African savanna and is carnivorous, while Kinkajou is omnivorous and a tropical rainforest mammal. The fox gets its name due to its unusually enormous ears, like how bats have.

Meanwhile, Kinkajou, also known as Honey Bear at times, is a curious and playful creature and is often preferred by people to be kept as a pet.

Now, even though the first version was distinct, it needed improvisation to make it “more human-sounding,” and “relatable,” Acord said. So, some more elements like real baby vocals and his own voice were added. The Daytime Emmy Award winner revealed:

“We (Acord and The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau) dialed way back on the animal part, and now that's just there for little grunts and coos and purring. We used some real baby vocals for when [The Child aka Grogu] gets really fussy and that kind of thing. Then I have some of my own vocal in there, too, for more of the articulated vocalizations, pitched way up. So it's a combination of things.”

Acord divulged these interesting tidbits after receiving his second Academy Award nod for the 2019 film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as he participated in a podcast, Behind the Screen, hosted by The Hollywood Reporter.

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What do we know of The Mandalorian season 3 so far?

Produced by Lucasfilm, Fairview Entertainment, and Golem Creations, The Mandalorian season 3 has Marvel’s top choice Jon Favreau as the showrunner and writer of the episodes. For a couple of episodes, Star Wars veteran Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor have lent him a helping hand.

As for the possible storyline, reports state that season 3 will take off after the events in The Book of Boba Fett, the 2021 space Western TV series also created by Favreau.

The Mandalorian season 3 hits Disney+ on Wednesday, March 1.