From the off, the most popular part of Disney Plus’ The Mandalorian was the adorable critter colloquially known as Baby Yoda. Though the eight-episode first season of the show gave us plenty of fuel for memes featuring the little guy, it didn’t actually provide a lot of details about who The Child – to give him his current official name – actually is. We know that he’s part of the same species as Yoda, he’s Force-sensitive and is highly sought after by the villainous Moff Gideon, but that’s about it.
Showrunner Jon Favreau was on hand to clear up a few things about The Child while speaking to USA Today at the Golden Globes, though. First of all, he appeared to categorically deny something that most of us knew wasn’t the case anyway: that Baby Yoda and Yoda are not the same being. When asked if The Child was a reincarnated Yoda, Favreau explained:
“The series timeline takes place after Return of the Jedi. And fans of the original trilogy will remember that Yoda not only passes away but actually disappears. So Yoda exists as a Force Ghost.”
He then went on to say that folks shouldn’t get confused by the name “Baby Yoda” as this isn’t the character’s in-universe moniker and is just something popularized by social media.
“Baby Yoda” is so nicknamed “because there’s no name for the Yoda species. It’s the easiest, shortest, most hashtagable way to identify that character, which is identified in the episode as ‘The Child.'”
Favreau’s most interesting remark came, though, when he was directly asked if Yoda and Baby Yoda are related in some way. The EP warned that this question was treading into spoiler territory, perhaps teasing that this is a revelation to come in season 2.
“Well, now you’re getting into spoilers. I can’t say. But there are a lot of theories about that.”
This comes from the same event where Taika Waititi – voice actor and director on the series – promised that Favreau does have an actual name for the kid in mind and that this will be revealed in time. So, fingers crossed we’ll find out the answers to everything we want to know about Baby Yoda when The Mandalorian returns to Disney Plus this fall.
