Ahead of "The Mandalorian and Grogu" arriving on Disney Plus, Polygon spoke to the film's visual effects team about the challenges of translating Jon Favreau's beloved series into a big-screen, IMAX-format instalment. The interview reveals the intricate design work behind new characters, including a hidden nod to Favreau's 2014 film "Chef", and highlights how far Star Wars visual effects have evolved since the show's 2019 debut.

Industrial Light & Magic's John Knoll explained that designing Jabba the Hutt's athletic son Rotta drew inspiration from elephant seals' territorial fights, while a practical head built by Legacy Effects was ultimately reworked digitally after Favreau felt it looked too friendly. The "Easter egg" comes via Martin Scorsese's character Hugo Durant, an alien chef whose food truck was designed with Roy Choi, the real chef behind Favreau's "Chef" and its Kogi truck, with Hugo revealed to be related to Rio Durant from "Solo: A Star Wars Story". The team also built a custom Apple Vision Pro app to preview footage as it would appear on IMAX screens, ensuring the framing suited cinema audiences rather than home streaming viewers.