An adorable Baby Yoda plush toy is coming from Build-A-Bear. After a whirlwind of a first season and the initial launch of Disney’s new subscription streaming service, the Star Wars franchise has secured yet another hit with The Mandalorian.
Taking place 5 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian follows the adventures of a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Although the Empire has been defeated, the time period in which The Mandalorian exists is still filled with uncertainties and the series has so far proven itself to have some surprises up its sleeve. Creator and co-writer Jon Favreau has previously found success with numerous big screen blockbusters, but the refocus of his talents to the TV medium has gone off rather seamlessly. This success was aided in no small part by the introduction of arguably the series’ most beloved character, Baby Yoda. Officially called “The Child”, Baby Yoda arrived in the first episode of The Mandalorian, and from that point onward, the character became a massive phenomenon – both within the Star Wars franchise and online. Countless memes were created, endless discussions and rumours abounded and perhaps most importantly of all, a massive demand for merchandise exploded.
Unfortunately, Disney has not yet been able to meet the immense demand from fans for a Baby Yoda of their own. The move was intentional, however, resulting from Favreau’s desire to not spoil the Baby Yoda plotlines in The Mandalorian. This meant that merchandise wouldn’t be around for Christmas, but Disney assured fans that there would be a variety of goods coming in 2020. Now thanks to Business Insider, we know that a new plush Baby Yoda is on its way from Build-A-Bear. Build-A-Bear CEO, Sharon Price John, revealed the new plush at the ICR Conference in Florida. You can catch a glimpse at the upcoming Baby Yoda below, courtesy of a tweet from Acing Entertainment:
Though this isn’t the first plush to get set for a release in 2020, Build-A-Bear’s take on Baby Yoda appears to be the cuddliest – provided that’s what merchandise hungry fans are looking for. As of this writing, there is no release date for the plush, but Disney’s early estimates back in 2019 were that its collection of Baby Yoda merchandise was due to arrive at some point in the first half of 2020. With the first season of The Mandalorian now over, Disney would do well to unleash a sizeable array of merchandise, giving fans something to tie themselves over with until the next season of the hit series arrives in autumn. There’s certainly still an extensive fanbase built around Baby Yoda – as was illustrated by the degree of ire raised after Jason Sudeikis’ stormtrooper punched the character in the season finale.
Fans are already impatiently looking forward to the next season, which is sure to reveal much more about Baby Yoda. So far, Favreau has indicated that as well as his writing duties on the second season, he’s also potentially looking to direct at least one episode. Hopefully any revelations regarding Baby Yoda in the second season will do the character justice, but fans can likely rest easy that the little green tyke won’t go joining the Imperial forces any time soon. Disney’s business practices are so calculated that building a character as lovable as this one up to such a degree only to switch its allegiances, would be an obviously disastrous move.
Next: Wait… Is Baby Yoda Tempted By The Dark Side?
Source: Business Insider, Acing Entertainment
