Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I’m your host Deffinition and it’s time to go back to a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Throughout this, we’ll be breaking down everything you need to know about Baby Yoda and the best fan theories on the cutest character in the Star Wars Universe.
If we’re right then there will be heavy spoilers here so if you don’t want anything about the future of the Disney Plus show ruined then I highly recommend that you turn off now. We’re only two episodes into the show so far but there’s a lot of evidence here to support the things we’ll be talking about and we don’t want to spoil the series for anyone who wants to go in as blind as possible.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel for weekly breakdowns of The Mandalorian as well as a whole host of other videos and with that out the way I just wanna give a huge thank you for clicking this now let’s get into our breakdown of Baby Yoda.
Baby Yoda
We first come face to face with Baby Yoda at the end of episode one of The Mandalorian. The baby has quickly become an entire mood and has reduced some people online to tears, I’m not even kidding.
The creature, referred to as The Asset, is a high-value target that is extremely sought after by a mysterious, imperial figure known as The Client. I’ll get into the reasoning behind this later, but it’s highly suggested that the asset is a very dangerous being that has provided a wave of death and destruction for all that have tried to take it…but look at it…it’s just so cute.
The Client seems very Blaise about whether The Mandalorian needs to bring it in alive, only stopping to suggest another option at the insistence of his ally, Dr. Pershing.
Upon arriving at the asset, The Mandalorian discovers that several other bounty hunters in the area are after it, including IG-11 voiced by Taiki Waiti and later ones that look like they come from the same species as Bossk. Though we don’t know the identity of the baby just yet, we do know that it is 50 years into a roughly 900-year lifespan and that it comes from the same species as Yoda.
Yoda’s Species
Now, unfortunately, we don’t actually know the name of Yoda’s species and whilst several sources list them as being called Lanniks, George Lucas has often refuted this, stating that he wants the race to remain a mystery.
When discussing Yoda’s origins in an interview with Moviefone, Lucas said:
“He’s a magical character. He has no background. He comes and he goes. He’s the subversive secret mysterious stranger that enters the film and then exits at the end…it’s like poetry…they rhyme…Busta rhymes”
He may not have said that last bit.
Anyway, this means that we have no concrete name for them, however, there has been a handful that have popped up in the Star Wars saga, mainly Yaddle, who similar to Yoda and the Baby are highly force sensitive.
We know that though these creatures are extremely rare throughout the entire galaxy and that they all seemingly have a connection with the force which is exemplified in Baby Yoda who can easily use it even in its young stages of life.
On the whole, though they are just referred to as the ‘Yoda Species’ but who knows, maybe The Mandalorian will clear this up as we get into it.
Who Is Baby Yoda?
At the moment online there are a lot of people asking who Baby Yoda is, with some people believing that the creature is literally a younger version of Yoda. However, due to the timeline of the show, this is impossible and the events of The Mandalorian are set 5 years after Return Of The Jedi when Yoda was long dead.
The fact that Baby Yoda is 50 means that it was born roughly around the same time as Anakin Skywalker, just before the events of The Phantom Menace and throughout the entire rise and fall of The Jedi and later The Empire it was hidden away, potentially due to its abilities.
So no, it is not Yoda.
It also exists in a time where people seem unaware once more of the force and Mando really has no idea what happened when the creature was demonstrating it’s ability to lift the Mud Horn. This cements that the Jedi and Sith have fallen into obscurity and there’s potential that a lot that have sought out the Asset have died when coming face to face with it because they don’t understand what it can do. Personally I believe that Mando only survived because he showed that he was there to protect it by killing IG-11 and this built the foundations of the bond that the two now have.
But Where Did It Come From?
Where Did Baby Yoda Come From?
Well, there have been a lot of theories online that this baby is the love child between Yoda and Yaddle and that in the collapse of the Jedi that the latter hid her baby from the war in order to keep it safe. Though Jedi are not supposed to have relationships, this may have happened though I highly doubt it personally.
One fan theory suggests that due to Yaddle’s disappearance in the middle of the Star Wars prequel Trilogy, that she was expelled from the Jedi order for bearing a child and with this baby she set out across the Universe to make her own way. We do know that she wasn’t present on the Jedi council in Revenge Of The Sith and did not perish during Order 66 so it is possible that this happened. Though surely Yoda would have been in trouble too, I guess MeToo wasn’t around back then.
Anyway, if this did happen then Anakin, aka Darth Vader may have eventually tracked her down when hunting The Jedi and he could have killed her. As he was unaware of the child it could have remained hidden and thus made it to the events of The Mandalorian.
Baby Yoda Is A Clone
However, there also exists another pretty big theory that is currently floating about online that says maybe Baby Yoda, is well…just a baby Yoda and is, in fact, a clone of the character.
Now Cloning is a big part of the Star Wars continuity and even so far back as 1977’s A New Hope, we had lip service paid to The Clone Wars which, with the prequels, was revealed to involve Storm Troopers that were cloned en masse from Bounty Hunter, Jango Fett, who could also tie in with Mando in some way.
We know on Kamino that this process could produce direct copies of beings and even increase or decrease the speed that they age at.
One of the most interesting things that Eagle-Eyed viewers have picked up is that the enigmatic Dr. Pershing, who wants Baby Yoda alive more than anyone, has a symbol on his top that is the exact same one that the Kamino Cloners use. This suggests that perhaps his interest in Baby Yoda comes from the fact that he was involved in the cloning of the character and this would also explain why the Client knew the rough whereabouts of where it was.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to clone Yoda and have their own baby army of Jedi? It does make sense but I am leaning more towards the theory that Baby Yoda is just a victim of a war-torn Galaxy that was sent to the planet to evade the eyes of the Empire and that it has remained hidden there ever since.
That doesn’t mean that cloning won’t come into it though and personally I do believe that The Client wishes to retrieve it so that he can mass produce copies of it. This is why Dr. Pershing is involved as he will be carrying out the procedures that enable the character to be reproduced. I’m sure Disney will be reproducing it anyway because who doesn’t want a Baby Yoda Teddy Bear, Baby Yoda Funko, Baby Yoda Socks!!!
Anyway, I’m guessing that the creature can be cloned whether it is dead or alive, however, it is easier to clone something living and this is why Dr. Pershing was so insistent that Mando brings Baby Yoda in unharmed.
The Rise Of Skywalker Tie-In
There is another theory floating about online at the moment as well that says that the baby will actually have big repercussions for the Star Wars universe going forward and that there will be some major tie-ins here to the upcoming Rise Of Skywalker Movie.
We know from Trailers and leaked images that Palpatine aka Darth Sideous will be returning for the film but many fans have been curious about how the character has managed to achieve such a long life span.
Fan theories suggest that this is partly due to Baby Yoda who as we all know ages very slowly in comparison to humanoids. It is possible that Palpatine wishes to have Baby Yoda brought in for studying so that he can see how the creature is able to live for so long and then he can apply it to his own life through genetics in order to make it all the way through the entire 9 movie arc.
It is an interesting theory and though we haven’t had any mention of The Mandalorian tying into Episode 9, it’s not outside the realm of possibility. We know that the Marvel Disney Plus shows will tie in with the greater MCU so this is indeed possible.
Going Forward With Baby Yoda
There are so many things that can happen when The Mandalorian reaches The Client but one thing that we do know that won’t happen is that he will hand it over without a fight. I mean just look at that face, just look at it…you…you can kinda see why it makes some people…sniff…wanna cry.
Anyway, it’s clear they’ve both grown an attachment to one another and it would be awesome to see these two going around the galaxy together.
Actually though, thinking about it, it would be pretty funny if he just handed it over and took the money and left…it would be the final F you to Star Wars fans. Kathleen Kennedy’s ultimate endgame, she is the real Darth Sideous.
Overall though I’m massively excited to see where the show goes and I guess we will find out what is really going on when Mando returns to the client for episode 3.
Your Thoughts
Obviously I’d love to hear your thoughts on Baby Yoda and if you agree with any of the theories or have your own even better one. If you’re from the future or have the foresight of a fully trained Jedi Knight then drop the truth about the character in the comments section below!
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