We’ve only got a few weeks left now until Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reaches theaters, and the upcoming ninth main installment of the beloved sci-fi franchise is well into the final stages of ramping up the hype. To the surprise of no one, the movie is looking to do huge business at the box office but also faces a tough task in having to get the fans back on board after the divisive Last Jedi and also tie up over 40 years’ worth of story and deliver a satisfying conclusion.
However, even despite the anticipation reaching an all-time high in recent weeks, The Rise of Skywalker isn’t the most talked-about aspect of the franchise right now. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last little while, The Mandalorian‘s Baby Yoda has taken the world by storm and has been stealing a lot of the online thunder from Episode IX.
Yes, that cute little green alien has usurped The Rise of Skywalker as the media’s current focal point when it comes to Star Wars and it seems the cast of the show is just as in love with the creature as we are. In fact, when the crew tried to replace the puppet they were using on set at one point and instead use CGI, star Werner Herzog called them “cowards” and demanded that they leave it.
In fact, that’s not the only time Herzog found himself feeling fond of Baby Yoda, as director Deborah Chow recalled the following experience while chatting with Vanity Fair:
“I had a day with one of the weirdest moments I’ve ever had directing,” she told the outlet. “I was directing Werner with the puppet, and Werner had just fallen in love with the baby. Werner, I think, had forgotten it wasn’t actually a live creature, and started sort of… directing the baby. Werner is talking to the baby as if it was a real thing. And I’m trying to direct Werner. And I’m just like, ‘How did I get here? How did my life end up like this?'”
Of course, Baby Yoda is far from the first loveable creature to emerge from the world of Star Wars. Droid BB-8 found itself in a similar position back in The Force Awakens and more recently, the Porgs had many people’s hearts feeling all fuzzy and warm during their debut in The Last Jedi.
Still, while The Mandalorian‘s Baby Yoda may be the talk of the internet right now, with The Rise of Skywalker quickly approaching, the story of Rey, Finn and Poe and their battle against evil will soon be dominating the headlines again.
