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‘The Mandalorian’s’ Baby Yoda Is Twitter’s New Son

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(via Lucasfilm/Disney)

Mandalorians have always been breakout characters in Star Wars, thanks largely to their expert costume design. Boba Fett in particular has been a fan favorite for years, despite ending his limited screen time in the original trilogy getting punked out in one accidental hit from Han Solo. Then losing control of his jetpack. Then screaming. Then falling into a burping space monster’s stomach. He simply has a capital “C” Cool costume design, and dozens of novels, toys, games, and comics have done their best to redeem him since Return of the Jedi first hit theaters in 1983.

When Disney+ launched early last week with a flagship original series named The Mandalorian, it was easy to expect its “cool” lead character to join Boba Fett as the new fan favorite. But our new Mandalorian protagonist is quickly revealed to be a somewhat clumsy newbie, spending as much time on the ground as he does over his enemies. As such, he is not the character getting the most buzz on social media right now. Instead, the show’s surprise heavy hitter is small, green, mostly silent, and probably still wears diapers.

Meet “Baby Yoda,” a small, 50-year old infant from what appears to be the same species as Yoda, and my new son. He shows up at the very end of The Mandalorian’s first episode, as the titular bounty hunter’s latest prey. However, our lead character soon takes an uncharacteristic liking to his target, and honestly, who could blame him? Not Twitter, who seems to be joining me on my way to the courthouse to file adoption papers.

The precocious 50-year-old hogs every second of screentime he’s given, with a perfect combination of tender expression, Force-powered mystery, and bratty obstinance. Once you’ve seen him in action, it’s not surprising to see users like Hector Navarro going so far as to suggest that the show be renamed after what is obviously its true hero. Meanwhile, @vashperado is ready to kill and die for him.

Even Werner Herzog is on the hype train…I think…calling Baby Yoda “heartbreaking” and saying he wept when he first saw him on set.

And Baby Yoda’s enemies might have found some use for him as a football.

Meanwhile, some users are questioning what we even call Baby Yoda, since we don’t know what his species’ proper name is yet, and it’s unlikely that he’s the actual Yoda.

As a Dragon Ball fan, I sympathize.

As for Baby Yoda’s unclear origins, some are suggesting a very simple answer.

Maybe this is why Yaddle was just referenced in the recent Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. But regardless of where he comes from, we know one thing. Baby Yoda is, in fact, a baby.

Jokes aside, in starring a tiny green muppet as its plot focus, The Mandalorian is going in a seemingly lighter direction than a show about a bounty hunter who makes his first appearance cutting people in half with OSHA-unfriendly doors might have first given off. But this genre of “tough drifter learns to love vulnerable child” has more than enough basis in popular culture for the show to work off.

Star Wars, after all, is known for borrowing elements of Japanese cinema. The six Lone Wolf and Cub films, released in Japan just a few years before A New Hope, provide a masterclass in its story about a wandering assassin escorting a young ward. Similarly, among the Western films the franchise takes the other half of its DNA from, John Wayne’s 3 Godfathers follows a bandit turned unexpected parent as he ends up delivering and taking care of a target’s baby after she goes into labor and dies mid-robbery.

Like it or not, Mandalorians have always been involved in goofy hijinks, despite their badass reputation. Like Boba Fett, the Mandalorian on Disney+ seems to be getting more recognition by doubling down on a cute, silly core, not less. That iconic visor and wrist-mounted flamethrower look more than in-place next to a bassinet, if you ask me.

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