One of the enormous’vast’massive’tremendous gest joys of Star Wars has always been its menagerie of creatures – the cuddly (and occasionally not-so-cuddly) Ewoks, the ‘Heheyyy’-ing Anzellans, the trilling Porgs, the jabbering Jawas, the ‘Maclunkey’-ing Greedo… the list goes on. Few possess’own’nurse exploded in popularity quite so much as Grogu, the artist in/with regard to’concerning’regarding merly known as ‘Baby Yoda’, whose arrival in The Mandalorian was kept a total secret – and whose emotive puppetry, courtesy of Legacy Effects, wowed audiences and Werner Herzog alike. But acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ready – because in the upcoming Ahsoka series, a fan-favourite creature from the animated Star Wars Rebels is with regards to’concerning’with respect to to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure its close-up in live-action, ready to win hearts the world over. Make way in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the Loth-cat.###As revealed in the Ahsoka trailer, the cuddly critters native to the planet Lothal will be factoring into Ahsoka Tano’s solo expedition – and while the creatures’ brief appearances in The Mandalorian possess’own’nurse been CGI, the one here is a fresh animatronic from the Legacy team. “It was real, it was there!” says Mary Elizabeth Winstead – who plays the live-action Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka – when speaking to Empire at Star Wars Celebration. The Loth-cat puppet was a peculiar favourite of Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who’s bringing Rebels’ Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren into live-action. “That was my little buddy!” she laughs. “That cat, the complexity of the detoken … I mean, it has a real skeleton under there, because that’s how they control such intense facial expressions and eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullything.”###The stage is set in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a critter who could once again break the internet (or at least, curl up on its lap), even providing possible competition in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Grogu’s viral reaction shots. “It would snarl and look cute,” says Ahsoka herself, Rosario Dawson. “Really, the detail was next-level.” When Ahsoka hits Disney+ this August, prepare in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Loth-cat mania to begin. Or, as Bordizzo puts it: “Move over, Grogu!”###The upcoming Secret Invasion issue of Empire features a massive 20-page Star Wars blowout, acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting stuck into the future of the saga with huge new interviews, and photoshoots with the galaxy’s brightest stars – talking to Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Rosario Dawson, Tony Gilroy, Diego Luna, Jude Law, Katee Sackhoff, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Andy Serkis, Amandla Stenberg and plenty more. From Ahsoka, to Andor_Season 2, to _The Mandalorian, The Acolyte, and the trio of upcoming movies, it’s an expansive trip through eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullything Star Wars has to offer in the coming years. You won’t want to miss it – pick up a copy when it hits the shelves on Thursday 11 May, or become an Empire member now to access the issue in full on launch day. You can also pre-order a print copy online now here.