Was The Rise of Skywalker originally going to kill Babu Frik?

When The Mandalorian debuted back on Disney+ in November, Star Wars fans fell for the adorable Baby Yoda almost instantly. The child quickly became lauded as the cutest creature in the galaxy, at least until The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters a month later and presented fans with another adorable creature (even if some of us stand by the fact that Baby Yoda’s the cutest): Babu Frik.

An alien mechanic who helps Rey and her friends extract information from C-3PO’s head, Babu Frik quickly became a fan-favorite, even if he didn’t have much screen time. But as it turns out, there were originally different plans for the little guy heading into the film, and his charm may have saved him from a far more gruesome fate.

According to Neal Scanlan, creative supervisor on The Rise of Skywalker, fans might have Steven Spielberg to thank for Babu Frik’s satisfying storyline and ending. “It could be a rumor, but I believe J.J. screened the movie for Steven Spielberg, and at the end Spielberg said, ‘What happened to Babu?’” Scanlan explained during an interview with Empire. “Everybody thought, ‘Oh God, what did happen to Babu?’”

Concept artist Ivan Manzella chimed in by saying that it’s possible Babu Frik was meant to die in the original plan for the film. “I think he was going to die originally — I think the AD shot that,” Manzella said. “When the planet [Kijimi] was blown up, he was on it.”

Thankfully, the producers decided not to obliterate Babu Frik from the galaxy. Whether that has anything to do with Spielberg’s rumored commentary is unclear, but it’s possible the director at least drew attention to the missing pieces of the little guy’s ending, and that it led to some rethinking of Babu’s role in the film.

Whatever the official story is, Star Wars fans can rejoice knowing that both of their favorite aliens are currently alive — and that Babu Frik is currently traversing the galaxy with Zorii Bliss. Perhaps we’ll see the little guy in a future project one day….

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