After being introduced in the series premiere of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, an adorable alien earned the nickname “Baby Yoda” after his resemblance to the iconic Jedi Master, though director of the series Taika Waititi recently joked on Twitter that the character’s real name was “Nigel.” Throughout the first season, the character was referred to as “The Child” by his on-screen counterparts, shrouding the character’s origins in mystery. Given that both “The Child” and “Baby Yoda” are merely nicknames for the character, it’s unclear if the young character is aware of its actual name, though audiences could learn this detail when The Mandalorian returns for a second season this fall.
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In response to a tweet about Waititi and co-creator Jon Favreau knowing the character’s real name, Waititi joked, “I think it’s Nigel.”
These jokes come after Waititi shared that he knows the character’s actual name, yet claimed that Favreau is the one with authority to actually reveal it.
“He’s not named Baby Yoda!” Taika asserted over the weekend. “I’ll wait for Favreau to give that away.”
Baby Yoda is only the third live-action appearance of this species, behind Yoda himself, who debuted in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Yaddle, who appeared on the Jedi Council in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Little is known about the species, with even the name of the species having never been confirmed, resulting in fans using “Baby Yoda” for shorthand.
“I think it’s exceeded our expectations, all of our expectations. But I knew, the moment I saw an early cut of the first episode, that we had something really special. And I just felt it,” Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed about the character to The Star Wars Show. “I’ve been in the business for 45 years, worked my way up through television mostly, [and I] remember times throughout my career in television when I saw either a character or an actor playing a character when you just knew.”
Even Iger himself couldn’t help but refer to the character with this shorthand, only to incur the ire of Favreau.
“In this particular case, The Child, or The Asset — because we don’t refer to The Child or The Asset the way the world is referring to The Child and The Asset as ‘Baby Yoda’ — that’s a no-no,” Iger joked. “I got chastised, in my early emails to Jon Favreau, I referenced in my emails, ‘Baby Yoda.’ It just seemed easy. And I got my wrists slapped by Jon a few times. ‘It’s not Baby Yoda!’ ‘Okay, okay!’”
The first season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian is available now on Disney+ with Season Two coming this fall.
What do you think the character’s real name is? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
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