‘The Mandalorian’ Showrunner Explains Why He Thinks Everyone Is Obsessed With Baby Yoda

baby yoda

Disney


Ever since Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion back in 2012 in an effort to reboot the Star Wars franchise, the reaction to the resulting projects has been mixed.

There have been beloved entries such as Rogue One, solid additions like The Force Awakens, lukewarm outputs like The Last Jedi, and downright subpar efforts with Solo. But when it comes to The Mandalorian, and specifically, Baby Yoda, Disney has hit a homerun unlike any they’ve seen since taking over the galaxy far, far away.

While The Mandalorian is successful in its own right — dressing a Western in a Star Wars costume is a genius idea, after all — the series’ immediate development into a worldwide cultural phenomenon is due to one thing and one thing only: Baby Yoda.

But why are audiences connecting with the character other than the fact that it’s literally out-of-this-world adorable? Series showrunner Jon Favreau (who also directed Iron Man) thinks he has an idea.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Favreau explained that he thinks the obsession surrounding Baby Yoda has to do with the already-mysterious lore surrounding the original, iconic, “adult” version of the character.

“I think what’s great about what George [Lucas] created is that Yoda proper, the character that we grew up watching, was always shrouded in mystery, and that was what made him so archetypal and so mythic,” he said (I’m only referring to Yoda as “Yoda proper” from now on). “We know who he is based on his behavior and what he stands for, but we don’t know a lot of details about where he comes from or his species. I think that’s why people are so curious about this little one of the same species.”

Whatever the reason is (hint: it’s because it’s overwhelmingly fucking cute) and however you feel about Baby Yoda, you better get used to him, as it’s been rumored the character is going to be a major part of the Star Wars franchise going forward.

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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com

Eric Italiano BroBIble avatar
Eric Italiano is a NYC-based writer who spearheads BroBible's Pop Culture and Entertainment content. He covers topics such as Movies, TV, and Video Games, while interviewing actors, directors, and writers.