Baby Yoda Theories

Earlier this month Disney finally launched it’s entry into the streaming game with their much anticipated Disney+. With a cheap retail price and a plethora of available content it won over the masses in short order. One of the shows they put front and center on the new Disney+ is the very first live action Star Wars series the Mandalorian. The show about a grizzled bounty hunter has won over audiences and critics alike, but one character from the show more than any other has become a fan favorite. Of course I am talking about the pint sized Baby Yoda. Found in the first episode by the show’s main character, Baby Yoda’s ridiculous cuteness has won over everyone even the notoriously fickle (putting it mildly) Star Wars fans.

Yes, we all know Yoda died during Return of the Jedi, but it is much either to call this little creature “Baby Yoda” instead of “Baby of Whatever Yoda’s Species Is”. It would seem some remnant of the Empire want this child bad enough to put a massive bounty on it leaving many to wonder what importance this creature has. We know it is handy with the Force and has a helpful nature but not much beyond that. So let us look at the theories as to who or what Baby Yoda is.

Cloning is not a new concept in the Star Wars Universe, hell there was even an entire war which saw an army of clones assembled. It seems as though Werner Herzog’s character known as the Client is working with a Dr. Pershing. The thing that caught the attention of sharp-eyed viewers was the insignia on Dr. Pershing’s uniform is the same logo used by the cloners of Kamino.  It was, after all, Pershing who was insistent that Baby Yoda be brought in alive. Or perhaps Baby Yoda is a clone of the actual Yoda, having the latest incarnation of one of the galaxy’s most powerful figures could be of great importance to any number of people. Or he is likely planning on making his own clones of the child, giving someone a midichlorian-filled army of Baby Yodas.

Devoted Star Wars fans know that Yoda was not the only one of his kind we have seen. In the Phantom Menace we see a character named Yaddle who is the same small-statured type alien on the Jedi Council. It has been suggested Baby Yoda is the child of these two. The timeline does appear to line up given where the prequels and original trilogies fall. This has given credence to the idea which has been circulating among a good number of fans online. Perhaps with Darth Vader executing Order 66, this child was hidden away for fear of the Empire getting ahold of it. 

No doubt as the Mandalorian rolls on we will discover more secrets of this child and what importance he holds to those who put on bounty on him. And it is almost a given that Disney will have Baby Yoda dolls on every toy store shelf this holiday season. So far only a few episodes in this series has proven to be one of the best Star Wars stories we have seen in a while.