FANDOM FEATURE
How a 50-year-old Toddler United a Fandom and Then Started Its Very Own by James Zahn, senior editor
O
n the morning of Nov. 12, 2019, while most of the world was going about its daily routine, audiences in the U.S. were crashing servers as they feverishly scrambled to install Disney+. The long-awaited debut of Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service happened with the usual technological hiccups expected with a major, multiplatform launch — but with plenty of delightful surprises. What no one expected was that the biggest surprise of them all was hiding at the end of the flagship series premiere of The Mandalorian: a 50-year-old, toddler-esque version of a beloved Star Wars character that the internet deemed “Baby Yoda.”
CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY #BABYYODA Within hours, #BabyYoda was a trending topic on Twitter. With little regard for spoilers, the web was buzzing with news of a creature who was of the same species as Jedi Master Yoda, but it couldn’t possibly be Yoda, could it? “The Child,” as we’d learn to call him in the second chapter released on Nov. 15, was a global phenomenon before most of the world even had formal access to the Disney+ service. The first-ever, live-action TV series to be set in the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian falls into a new era of storytelling set five years after the events of The Return of the Jedi (1983). In that film, Yoda died, becoming one with the Force at the age of 900. While the arrival of The Child was a surprise to the audience, it may have been a bigger shock to a group of Lucasfilm partners who usually have early access to such information: the consumer products and toy licensees.
Above: Mattel’s 11-inch, vinyl-head plush doll in “floating pod” packaging
12 | Issue No. 6 | THE POP INSIDER
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