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Baby Yoda Funko Pop! Is Officially On The Way

by Lindsey Romain
Dec 3 2019 • 1:04 PM

It was only a matter of time. In fact, if anything was a sure thing in this largely unknowable universe, it was this. You guessed it. Baby Yoda is getting a Funko Pop! Because of course he is. J.J. Abrams has a Funko Pop! for crying out loud. Of course Baby Yoda is getting one. In fact, he’ll probably get many as The Mandalorian progresses. ‘Tis the Funko way.

Funko officially announced the figure on Twitter, with accompanying images. “The Child,” as the show and official merchandise refer to the little green guy, will be available in two sizes: standard bobblehead and 10” super-sized Pop! Given how small Baby Yoda is on the show, 10” is practically life sized!

Here’s some more information about the figures from the Funko blog:

“Embrace the cuteness of the newest Star Wars character by pre-ordering Funko’s “the Child” Pop! in both standard size AND a near-lifesize 10-inch version! He may look like a Baby Yoda, but this lovable creature is referred to as “the Child.”

Inspired by the Disney+ live action series The Mandalorian, this adorable little alien is a perfect addition to your POP collection. Always at the forefront of pop culture, Funko is excited to announce the item will be available for shipment in early Spring with additional details to come.”

That’s right, we have to wait until spring for The Child Pop! to arrive, which feels eons away. The long wait for Baby Yoda merchandise is intentional. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, showrunner Jon Favreau explained the reasoning: “The way the cat usually gets out of the bag with that stuff is merchandising and toy catalogues and things like that,” he said. “We really wanted to have it be that you had to watch it yourself, so that every time you watched the show there’d be new twists and secrets coming out. But that requires a lot of restraint from the people footing the bill. Part of that was holding back on things like merchandise.”

Baby Yoda blinking in a gif from The Mandalorian.

That approach may be frustrating for fans desperate for a plush or figure of Baby Yoda in time for the holidays, but it makes a lot of sense, logically. The internet lost its collective mind when The Child made his debut in episode one of the Disney+ series. That’s largely because none of us saw it coming. If he already existed in licensing material, the surprise element would be gone. We have to respect Disney for forsaking some guaranteed dollars to preserve the reveal for audiences. That takes a great deal of confidence.

And it hasn’t stopped other online retailers from rushing out their own Baby Yoda merch. Sites like Zazzle, Amazon, Hot Topic, and Box Lunch already have Baby Yoda gear available for purchase, and Etsy creators are hard at work on their own versions of the popular character. Walmart has already listed their own Baby Yoda figure, too.

Still, it’s nice to know an officially licensed Funko Pop! is on the horizon. That gives us something to look forward to after The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian rap up this December.

Featured Image: Funko