The bad news is that nobody’s getting this huggable figure of The Mandalorian‘s breakout character anywhere near Christmas. The good news: at least folks can buy him by Memorial Day? This is what happens when studios decide to keep something so under wraps that even toy companies don’t know about it. Odds are the licensees all saw Baby Yoda for the first time at the same time you did: either on Disney+, or as a meme. Earlier in the week, this Baby Yoda plush showed up on Walmart.com, causing some to wonder if it was legit or, like so many others online, a fan mock-up. Yesterday, online retailer Entertainment Earth confirmed by listing it as an official preorder. Others followed suit during the day.
Thus far the character has no official name besides The Child. And unlike Pedro Pascal, a puppet portrays him, so there’s no actor to just blurt out a secret name in an interview. Even the species of “Baby Yoda” is only known as “Yoda’s species.” But whatever one chooses to call him, demand and love or this character thus far outpaces that for any newbie in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. (Sorry, D-O.)
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His figure is an 11-inch plush with a vinyl head, and he comes packed in a box that vaguely resembles the kid’s floating bassinet. Unlike many other Star Wars products, Mattel (rather than Hasbro) makes The Child. For those concerned about Hasbro losing the license after 2020, this could be Disney testing the waters outside of the regular contract.
Preorders are up now at EE and elsewhere for $24.99. Presumably many people reading this bought it, like, five minutes ago, the moment this headline came through the feed. But let us know if you did or didn’t in comments below.
