The Baby Yoda Merchandise Onslaught Has Begun, More Coming Very Soon

As the final seconds of the premiere episode of The Mandalorian came to a close, you could almost hear the entire Star Wars fandom rise up and declare with one voice, "We want Baby Yoda merchandise!"

Showrunner Jon Favreau has talked about how Disney let him keep a lot of the toy companies in the dark to avoid information about the little Yoda-esque character leaking out before the show debuted, but it seems like Disney isn't going to let the holiday season come and go without offering at least some Baby Yoda merch for the diehard fans who can't get enough of the little green alien. Some merchandise is already available, but a new report suggests that some things still might not be ready in time for Christmas.

Officially licensed Baby Yoda T-shirts are already on sale from places like DesignByHumans, who have two color options available. The black one looks like this:

(Before we go any further, it's more fun to call this thing "Baby Yoda" than referring to it as "The Child." Though it may be a clone, so who knows?)

Admittedly, a T-shirt is much easier to produce than other pieces of merchandise, but it's still good news that fans don't have to wait until after Christmas to get their hands on some items with his face on them. And it turns out more is on the way soon. According to CNBC (via ScreenCrush):

Apparel and accessories featuring the yet unnamed creature will soon be available through Amazon, Zazzle, Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Hot Topic and Box Lunch, a person familiar with the company plans said. These items could arrive as early as Friday.

Other products will also arrive at the Disney Store, ShopDisney and at the Disney Parks before the holidays. In addition, presales for toys and plush will be available in the coming weeks. It is uncertain when that merchandise will be shipped.

So it sounds like there's a chance that toys and plushies still might not be ready in time for Christmas, which would be a bit of a bummer for those who were hoping to wake up on Christmas morning and find a Baby Yoda doll poking out of the top of their stocking. But it's clear that it was important for Favreau and Dave Filoni to keep this character under wraps as much as possible. For a company like Disney to defer to the filmmakers when it could easily be raking in tons of extra cash by flooding the market with loads of Baby Yoda merch is a rare monetary sign of the studio demonstrably valuing art over commerce.