‘The Mandalorian’: Why Baby Yoda is the best ‘Star Wars’ from Disney+ so far
A catalog of all the Disney classics locked in the vault? Useless. All the phase one Marvel movies that have never been on streaming services? Stupid. A Star Wars spinoff show featuring a 50-year-old Yoda who looks like a 5-month-old Yoda? Now that’s what we’re talkin’ about!
The Mandalorian has impressed nearly every Star Wars fan and critic so far, but the reason the internet won’t shut up about it is because of the inclusion of Baby Yoda. Yoda is the Mandalorian’s target, as he was paid to bring back the infant Yoda alive. Yoda isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, because the Mandalorian was paid a hefty bounty to get him.
A baby version of the old man we’ve known for years? Sometimes Disney really does know what’ll make fans go crazy. But since The Mandalorian takes place after Return of the Jedi, there are a lot of questions surrounding who Baby Yoda is and what’s coming for him.
Spoilers for the first three episodes of The Mandalorian below, so beware you must!
Is this the Yoda we know from the original and prequel trilogies?
Simply put, no. The Mandalorian takes place five years after Return of the Jedi, in which Yoda dies at the ripe ol’ age of 900. However, he may be the offspring of the Yoda we know.
In The Phantom Menace, another jedi master of Yoda’s species is on the High Council, a female named Yaddle. If the two of them got together and produced a child during the time of The Phantom Menace, that child would be about 50 by the time of The Mandalorian. Therefore, Baby Yoda is most likely the child of Yoda and Yaddle.
Of course, there’s always the theory that this Baby Yoda is a clone or twin of the Master Yoda we know & love. But Lucasfilm has announced his identity will be revealed later, so we’ll get answers by the end of the first season of The Mandalorian.
Can Baby Yoda use the Force?
Obviously. He’s already proven that he’s probably the most powerful character on The Mandalorian. Baby Yoda helped the Mandalorian fight against Mudhorns, which uses up all of his strength. While it’s clear his Force powers are on a lower level than his predecessor, Baby Yoda is still able to use the Force.
Baby Yoda still doesn’t understand the Jedi code yet, however. Yoda taught us this back in The Empire Strikes Back: “A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defence, never for attack.” Of course, the only time we’ve seen Baby Yoda use the Force is to attack the Mudhorn. Hopefully Baby Yoda figures out how to use his powers properly someday.
What does the Empire want with Baby Yoda?
The evil guys want a guy who’s still involved with the Force who doesn’t have a moral code yet? Hm, we wonder what they would do with Baby Yoda.
In case the sarcasm wasn’t obvious, it’s clear the bounty hunters that hire the Mandalorian to track down Baby Yoda used to be part of the Empire. A young Force-sensitive person could be the perfect weapon to bring the Empire back to power. Clearly the Mandalorian will do everything in his power to protect Baby Yoda from danger, so hopefully he realizes soon enough the plans of his buyers.
Where can I buy a Baby Yoda?
We’re betting Baby Yoda is the hot toy this Christmas. When Disney+ launched, showrunners Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni made sure Baby Yoda didn’t get pushed out with any advertising or merchandise, to keep the secret of the child. But now that the secret’s out, The Mandalorian merchandise will be hitting shelves in time for Christmas, with Baby Yoda in focus.
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New episodes of The Mandelorian debut every Friday on Disney+.
