Who are the Hutts In The Mandalorian & Grogu? Jabba's Family, Explained

Star Wars' most notorious crime family is finally returning to the big screen for the first time in years. The Hutt Clan will officially appear in the upcoming movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which hits theaters on May 22. This is the family of the iconic character Jabba the Hutt, who first appeared in the Original Star Wars trilogy decades ago.

At least three Hutts are confirmed to appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu, all of whom have a direct relationship with the late Jabba. For audiences who haven't kept up with all of Star Wars' Disney+ content or who just need a refresher ahead of the upcoming movie, there are a few key details that everyone should remember about the Hutt Clan and its impact on the galaxy at large.

The Hutts Are the Most Powerful Crime Family in the Galaxy

The Hutts are the head of an expansive crime family that spreads throughout the entire galaxy. They are comprised of slug-like creatures from the world of Nal Hutta. In their case, the term "crime family" is strikingly accurate, as the heads of the Hutt clan are indeed all related to one another. The cartel is made up of multiple clans, each headed by a member of the Hutt family who rules his or her own section of the galactic underworld. These leaders together make up the Grand Hutt Council, which includes crime lords like Jabba, Ziro, and Gardulla.

As the galaxy's most notorious crime lords, the Hutts were a nexus for all manner of crime and villainy. They controlled the underground network of spice trade, shipping large amounts of Star Wars' version of drugs from one planet to another. The Hutts are prime employers of the galaxy's bounty hunters, often keeping large reserves of the assassins for their own personal use. For this reason, getting on a Hutt's bad side was considered a death sentence, as they would send their personal killers after anyone with a debt--as Han Solo learned the hard way during the events of Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back.

During the Republic Era, Jabba the Hutt became the most powerful member of his family. However, he also faced competition from his relatives, particularly his uncle, Ziro. While the Hutts are all aligned in theory, they often fight with one another in the shadows, as each seeks more power and control over the galaxy. During the Clone Wars and after the rise of the Empire, Jabba rapidly outpaced his relatives to become the most powerful crime lord in the galaxy, ruling from his palace on Tatooine. However, during his reign, he still had to deal with competition from rivals like the Pykes and Crimson Dawn.

By the end of the Galactic Civil War and the fall of the Empire, however, the Hutt clan was in total shambles. Jabba the Hutt's death at the hands of Princess Leia Organa left a sizeable power vacuum in the criminal underworld, leaving other ravenous criminals to snatch up whatever profits they could. The Hutts were never again as powerful as they had been during Jabba's lifetime, with other criminal networks rising to take their place.

Which Hutts Will Appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu?

The Mandalorian and Grogu marks the first time that any Hutt will appear in a Star Wars movie since the release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2008. The upcoming movie takes place about five years after the events of Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi, which means that Jabba is already long dead by the time Din Djarin and Grogu encounter the Hutt Clan. However, three of Jabba's family members will make appearances in the upcoming movie, and all of them should be familiar to Star Wars fans.

The first two Hutts to appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu are known only as "The Twins." The Twin Hutts are a brother and sister who ruled an unknown portion of the criminal underworld during the Age of the Empire. As Jabba's cousins, they attempted to usurp his territory on Tatooine after his death, as seen during The Book of Boba Fett. There, they learned that Jabba's personal bounty hunter, Boba Fett, had already claimed the territory for himself as the new "Daimyo."

The Twins attempted to kill Boba Fett in their greedy lust for power, sending the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan after him. When their assassin failed, the Twins publicly apologized to Fett and relinquished their claim to their cousin's territory. They do not appear again until The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will most likely reveal what the pair of Hutts have been up to since giving up on consolidating power.

Also set to appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu is Rotta the Hutt, who has a much bigger role to play in the larger Star Wars galaxy. Rotta is Jabba the Hutt's son. He will be voiced by The Bear's Jeremy Allen White in his upcoming appearance and is shown to be a very different kind of Hutt than audiences have seen before. Rotta is a bulky strongman who fights in the gladiatorial pits, showing himself to be far stronger and more agile than any other Hutt depicted in the Star Wars universe. He also appears to have no known ties to organized crime by the time he meets Din Djarin and Grogu, which also differentiates him from the rest of his family.

Rotta the Hutt's Reintroduction Is a Pivotal Moment in Star Wars History

While three Hutts will appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu, Rotta is the most important. Audiences may already be familiar with Jabba's son, who first appeared in the 2008 animated film, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In his debut, Rotta is kidnapped as part of a Separatist plot to frame the Jedi for his disappearance and thus earn the allegiance of Jabba's clan during the Clone Wars. This plan backfired when Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his new Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, rescued the infant Hutt and returned him to his father.

Rotta hasn't been seen since The Clone Wars, remaining entirely absent through the events of the Original Trilogy and his father's death. Naturally, this led viewers to debate the young Hutt's fate. After Jabba's death, Rotta would be the natural successor to his territory on Tatooine. This would make the dispute between Boba Fett and the Twins in The Book of Boba Fett unnecessary, unless Rotta had no interest in taking his father's place in the criminal underworld.

Rotta the Hutt's return will be an opportunity for Star Wars fans to finally get answers to all of these questions. Given that The Mandalorian and Grogu seems to be acutely focused on the galactic underworld in the aftermath of the Empire's fall, Rotta's return could mark a pivotal moment in which Jabba's true successor is revealed. This would, of course, be a big problem for Boba Fett, who has laid claim to everything that Jabba once owned. Conversely, Rotta may show no interest in taking over his father's territory, instead choosing to carve out his own path as a hero rather than a crime lord. Either way, it will be interesting for fans to see how this Hutt's story differs from that of his father.

The Mandalorian and Grogu opens in theaters on May 22.