Baby Yoda and The Mandalorian meet and greets at Disney parks are not happening soon. The new Disney+ series has been one of the most talked about Star Wars productions in years and marks the very first live-action TV series for the decades old franchise.
While Disney’s subscription streaming service is still in its very early stages – Disney+ has yet to fully launch in Western Europe as of this writing – things have been going smooth so far. Subscription numbers are strong and arguably one of the single biggest draws for subscribers has been the service’s Star Wars content. This content includes The Mandalorian, a new TV series by filmmaker Jon Favreau. Favreau’s relationship with Disney has been strong over the years, with the one-time low budget filmmaker having moved on to monster hits such as the live-action adaptations of The Jungle Book and The Lion King. As a self-professed Star Wars fan, however, Favreau was instrumental in The Mandalorian’s careful construction. This includes the creation of The Child (aka Baby Yoda) - a character that has taken the internet by storm and kept Star Wars fans guessing as to the tiny green star’s origin and overall importance to The Mandalorian series.
Most recently, the hysteria surrounding Baby Yoda reached a new level when it was reported that along with the Mandalorian, Baby Yoda would also be taking part in meet and greets at Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge attractions in California and Florida. The two new additions to Disneyland and Disney World, respectively, have been drawing huge numbers of Star Wars fans since opening last year. Fans can currently see many of their favorite Star Wars characters at the two attractions, all while taking part in unique activities like piloting the Millenium Falcon and building their own lightsabers. Unfortunately, news that Baby Yoda and the Mandalorian will soon be mingling with fans was pre-emptive and as ComicBook now reports, Disney Parks has officially said that such meet and greets are not currently planned.
This news will certainly come as a disappointment for fans who were eager to have a photo or two taken with Baby Yoda or the Mandalorian. Though the Disney Parks announcement is confirmed as accurate, there was no additional information regarding when The Mandalorian characters might (if ever) become a part of Galaxy’s Edge. Given the manner by which Disney has taken to the Star Wars franchise since acquiring it from Lucasfilm, it seems likely that sooner or later both hit characters will be a part of Galaxy’s Edge. However, due to Baby Yoda’s size, fans immediately questioned exactly how the famed character could take part in any sort of real meet and greet after the original announcement was made. Nonetheless, that point apparently needn’t be considered for the time being.
As Baby Yoda merchandise finally begins to become available and Disney+ gets set to launch in Western Europe, just how strong the tiny green hero’s appeal is will truly be put to the test. There is such a thing as oversaturation with some characters and if the upcoming second season of The Mandalorian fails to continue to elevate its level of intrigue, Baby Yoda’s popularity could risk falling off. Then again, the original Yoda character was introduced in 1980 and remains one of the franchise’s most popular characters to this day. Time will indeed tell what happens next, but for now at least, fans will have to make due with no new meet and greets at Galaxy’s Edge.
Next: Theory Baby Yoda Will Become The Second Mandalorian Jedi
Source: ComicBook
