Director Joe Dante, known for his work on the classic 80s comedy/horror franchise Gremlins, has something to say about the cutest baby in a galaxy far, far away.

In a recent interview with Datebook, Dante called out Disney and Lucasfilm for, what he feels, is a rip-off of the adorable, furry little Mogwai, Gizmo, star of the Gremlins movies.

He makes the accusation that when those working on the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian were coming up with the look of Grogu aka Baby Yoda, they may have taken a few liberties from the films he directed.

"I think the longevity of (the films) is really key to this one character (Gizmo), who is essentially like a baby. 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."

He even went as far as posting a mash-up pic on Twitter in 2019 of what Grogu might look like if you fed him after midnight - one of the big no-nos of owning the cuddly, big-eared Gizmo.

For those who might not know, the Mogwai come with three important rules of ownership:

  • No bright light. It hurts and/or kills them.

  • Don't get them wet or they will multiply.

  • And NEVER, EVER feed them after midnight or they become savage little terror monsters.

It doesn't seem Dante has any intentions of making a legal case out of the likeness issue, though one could see his point. But then again, What else would a baby version of Yoda's species look like?

In other Gremlins news, Dante did have some input into the new HBO Max animated series based on his classic creature films, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai which will tell the origin story of Gizmo meeting his original owner Sam Wing.

There is no release date as of yet for the show, but a second season has already been ordered up by the streaming giant.

Tags: Joe Dante Gremlins The Mandalorian Gizmo Grogu Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai