As the iconic, adorable face of The Mandalorian, there’s no need for Grogu to talk in The Mandalorian and Grogu, but why can’t he? Lovingly deemed “Baby Yoda” by audiences prior to knowing his actual name, Grogu is awfully young, and thus it certainly hasn’t been surprising that he can’t talk in The Mandalorian.

Now, however, it’s more curious that Grogu doesn’t seem to have a speaking role in The Mandalorian and Grogu, based on the first trailer for Star Wars’ next movie. Though he makes several attempts to speak in The Mandalorian season 3, he still can’t talk, and there’s likely a sad reason behind that.

Grogu Is Still Young, But Not THAT Young

Species age differently, as IG-11 tells Din Djarin in The Mandalorian season 1, which is certainly the case for Yoda’s mysterious species. Still, however, Grogu is fifty years old when Din Djarin first finds him, and Yoda was training Jedi younglings by the time he was one hundred years old.

It stands to reason, then, that Grogu ought to be speaking by now. There’s a lot of progress to be made to take him from being essentially nonverbal to becoming capable of teaching other beings in the ways of the Jedi, even if that’s not the destiny that’s been written for Grogu specifically.

Of course, as mentioned above, Grogu has certainly tried to start speaking. In The Mandalorian season 3, Grogu nearly says “This is the Way,” and he looks disappointed in himself when Din Djarin reminds the Armorer that Grogu cannot speak yet. With his age considered, then, Grogu should be talking by now – but it’s understandable why he can’t.

Grogu’s Trauma Has Impacted His Speech Development

The trauma Grogu has endured over the course of his life is something that is, in my opinion, not discussed enough. Grogu would have been half the age he is now when Order 66 was enacted, which was already an immensely traumatizing event for anyone involved; the Jedi, the inhibitor-chip-controlled clone troopers, and more.

We still don’t know much about what Grogu endured between Order 66 and his first meeting with Din Djarin in The Mandalorian, but in season 2, episode 5 “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” Ahsoka Tano tells Din that Grogu’s memory is shrouded in darkness, a sure sign that Grogu has trauma blocked many of his memories out.

Trauma can certainly be a catalyst for impaired speech development. That’s in addition to the fact that Grogu seems to have spent much of his childhood locked away, contained within his iconic pram, and thus hasn’t been able to study the speech of others the way children need to in order to understand how to speak.

It’s not yet proven whether Grogu will be able to speak in The Mandalorian and Grogu or not, but it makes sense why he hasn’t been able to talk up until now. Grogu has been through a lot, but now that he’s safe in his father’s care, perhaps he’ll be able to learn again.

The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters May 22, 2026.