'Gremlins' director says Baby Yoda is 'completely stolen' from his 1984 character Gizmo

• Director Joe Dante spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about his "Gremlins" films.
• Dante said "The Mandalorian" copied its Baby Yoda character from "Gremlins" character Gizmo.

"Gremlins" director Joe Dante called out "The Mandalorian" over the similarities between his 1984 character Gizmo and Baby Yoda.

In an interview published Wednesday with the San Francisco Chronicle's Allen Johnson, Dante reflected on his popular "Gremlins" franchise that included "Gremlins" in 1984 and 1990's "Gremlins 2: The New Batch."

"I think the longevity of (the films) 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."

Gizmo, voiced by Howie Mandel, is a Mogwai and one of the main characters in "Gremlins." Baby Yoda, real name Grogu, is a child from Master Yoda's species that appears alongside actor Pedro Pascal in "The Mandalorian." The series premiered in 2019 and is available on Disney+.

Representatives for Lucasfilms and Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Zach Galligan, who played Billy in the "Gremlins" franchise, told Entertainment Weekly in February 2021 that he'd seen the character comparisons online.

"People have been bombarding me on social media with comparatives, scale drawings, and everything, and coming up with all sorts of theories about whether or not there was any kind of conscious decision behind it," Galligan told EW. "All I can say is this: in many ways, it's really great because it's always very helpful in media to have a foil. Which one do you like better? Which one was first? It just is another kind of narrative you can use to drive people's engagement."

In his interview, Galligan also argued that Gizmo was slightly cuter than Baby Yoda.

"Well, I'm going to say my buddy is cuter," Galligan said of Gizmo. "He's fuzzier and, to me, fuzzy is cuter. Baby Grogu seems like he's kind of been shaved, or maybe he's hairless."