Pop culture phenomenons can’t be created ahead of time or predicted, especially in the modern age where social media trends are just as unexpected as they are fleeting, and the current big thing can often end up being forgotten about in a matter of days when the shiny new object of everyone’s fascination comes along.
Star Wars really lucked out when it came to Baby Yoda, even if Disney sacrificed a huge amount of merchandising revenue under instructions from Jon Favreau. Grogu became an instant icon, spawning thousands of memes and launching a one-alien empire that’s led to every imaginable tie-in under the sun, which has lined the pockets of the Mouse House and Lucasfilm while giving fans of The Mandalorian something to coo over every time the little green guy appears on screen, even if he’s puking on himself or being accused of genocide.
Of course, the entirety of season 2 kept on throwing out cult heroes, from Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth in the premiere to the surprisingly massive fanbase gathered by the Frog Lady, and Jeans Guy even got his own character poster after capturing the imagination of Disney Plus subscribers everywhere when he was caught lurking in the background. But none of them could match the popularity of Baby Yoda.
Perhaps that’s why it makes sense, then, that we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Ahsoka Tano would appear in The Mandalorian‘s second run long before it was announced – that the brain trust behind Star Wars are actively trying to come up with another character than can replicate the appeal of The Child.
Of course, it goes without saying that these things are entirely organic and dependent on the fanbase, and any attempt at trying too hard to recreate the formula could come off as transparent and cloying, but Star Wars at least has plenty of previous experience with conjuring such beloved figures.
Published: Mar 15, 2021 07:18 am