If there’s one thing Star Wars has really capitalized on, it’s the franchise’s multitude of cute and cuddly creatures. Return of the Jedi had Ewoks. The Last Jedi introduced us to Porgs. And now, The Mandalorian‘s Baby Yoda has been taking the world by storm. To be fair, we shouldn’t be entirely surprised by that last one; after all, Yoda remains one of the series’ most popular characters, and “The Child” is downright adorable by comparison.
However, despite his widespread popularity, fans from all over have noticed a distinct lack of merchandise, especially since The Mandalorian premiered just ahead of the holiday season. While some toys and other products have since gone on sale, Disney ended up losing out on millions by delaying production.
So, you might be wondering: why exactly did the House of Mouse opt to delay any Baby Yoda merch? Thankfully, Disney CEO Bob Iger has shed some light on the matter. As reported by ComicBook.com, their decision was a “good thing,” as it prevented any leaks or spoilers surrounding The Child’s existence to ruin the plot of the show before it aired on Disney Plus.
“We didn’t tell anybody about that character’s presence in the series, or even the first episode,” Iger said during an appearance on The Star Wars Show. “I know a lot has been said about the Christmas season and everybody wants to buy The Child toys and et cetera and so on, and they’re not really out there. That’s because if we had given the design out, it would have gone out to hundreds and hundreds of people, probably all over the world, and we didn’t want to do that.”
Don’t fret though – even if you were hoping for some merch this holiday season, there’s still a lot to look forward to. Figurine collectors will be able to snag a Baby Yoda Funko POP! sometime next year, and Hasbro is set to release their own action figures, mini-figures, and electronic plushies in 2020.
And if you (for some reason) haven’t gotten around to watching The Mandalorian, you better get on that. After all, the season finale has already aired, and there’s plenty of spoilers floating around.