Gremlins director says Baby Yoda is 'out-and-out copied' from his films

First it was Baby Groot, now Baby Yoda has beef with the Gremlins?

Joe Dante, the director of the 1984 movie Gremlins and its 1990 sequel, said in a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that the wildly popular green-skinned star of The Mandalorian reminded him of the central creature in his movies — perhaps a little too much.

"I think the longevity of [Gremlins] is really key to this one character [Gizmo], who is essentially like a baby," Dante told the outlet. "Which brings me, of course, to the subject of Baby Yoda, who is completely stolen and is just out-and-out copied. Shamelessly, I would think."

The Chronicle didn't elaborate on Dante's remarks, except to note that the filmmaker "is not one to hold a grudge" and "isn't thinking of suing Disney and Lucasfilm."

Gizmo, of course, is the main Mogwai character in Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Meanwhile Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, was introduced in the first episode of Disney and Lucasfilm's Star Wars spin-off series, and thanks to his inherent adorableness, quickly became a massive online talking point — not to mention a major merchandising opportunity. The Gremlins will next be seen this fall on HBO Max's animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, featuring the voices of Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, and James Hong.

Baby Yoda previously revealed his own issues with another pint-size pop culture figure: Baby Groot. As jokingly played by Saturday Night Live cast member Kyle Mooney on "Weekend Update," he acknowledged in 2019 that he "has his haters."

"If I may, Baby Groot, do me a favor," he warned. "Keep my name out of your little tree mouth before I snap you like a twig."

Looks like that SNL joke has legs.

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