The Mandalorian has introduced a new character that’s instantly won over the hearts of Star Wars fans. Currently known as either “The Asset” of “The Child” within the world of the Disney Plus show, folks have been calling the cute little critter Baby Yoda due to the toddler’s close resemblance to the most famous member of his species. We can only guess where the series is going with the character, but it seems Lucasfilm may have big plans for him down the line.
Sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who revealed Ewan McGregor was returning as Obi-Wan back in May – have said that Baby Yoda will effectively become a new Yoda figure for the franchise going forward. We’ve heard that he’ll appear in future movies/TV shows and fill something of a similar role to the beloved Jedi Master, who perished at the grand age of 900 in Return of the Jedi. Yoda did just come back as a Force ghost in The Last Jedi, of course, but there can only be so many times he shows up this way.
So, what do we know about The Asset from The Mandalorian‘s first two episodes? Well, for some reason, Werner Herzog’s mysterious client is desperate to either kill the baby or have him under his control, as both Pedro Pascal’s bounty hunter and IG-11 were sent after him. He’s 50 years old as well, which for this species means he’s still an infant, but despite his young age, the second episode revealed that he has some fairly developed Force powers and intelligence, being shown to lift a mudhorn into the air during the Mandalorian’s tussle with one.
The baby’s only the third of Yoda’s species we’ve seen in Star Wars, after Yaddle, the female who was part of the Jedi Council in The Phantom Menace. We can assume, then, that there aren’t many of them around anymore and that they tend to be Force-sensitive.
Also, it’s important to remember that The Mandalorian is set shortly after the Original Trilogy, so he’d be a few decades older by the time of the Sequel Trilogy and could potentially be a young boy or even a teen in future appearances. Meaning he’d be a lot more powerful than he is now and be able to play a larger role in the proceedings.