Baby Yoda stopped by SNL for an appearance on Weekend Update, and started beef with Baby Groot. As the breakout star of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda has been everywhere lately, showing up in an endless array of memes, mash-up videos and fan-made pieces of art.
Just recently, fans of the little green alien were also given the best Christmas gift of all when Hasbro's Baby Yoda merchandise was finally revealed – even though the merchandise won’t actually be available in time for Christmas. Of course, all those fans are curious to find out what new things will be revealed about Baby Yoda on The Mandalorian, which recently released its sixth episode. Unfortunately, Baby Yoda didn’t do much in the new episode except – naturally – get rescued by Mando once again. If Baby Yoda has any surprises up his tiny sleeve, they’re apparently being held back by Jon Favreau and company until later in the first season (and perhaps fans won’t find out anything truly interesting until season 2).
Even though Baby Yoda isn’t doing much interesting on The Mandalorian, the character is still front-and-center in pop culture. The latest random place Baby Yoda popped up was on SNL, where cast member Kyle Mooney donned a frankly hideous costume to play the little alien. See video of Baby Yoda’s SNL debut in the space below:
If there seems to be something strange about this depiction of Baby Yoda, it’s because the character is actually nothing like The Child on The Mandalorian. On the Disney+ show, Baby Yoda doesn’t speak at all outside of the occasional adorable squeak, and certainly doesn’t behave like a SoundCloud rapper. Indeed, the bit is less about Baby Yoda and more about making fun of “flexer” culture, which is all about boasting and starting beefs. In true flexer fashion, Mooney’s Baby Yoda calls out Baby Groot, telling the Guardians of the Galaxy character to “keep my name out of your little tree mouth before I snap you like a twig.” Clearly, the contrast between the actual Baby Yoda, who is gentle and innocent and feels no need to flex, and Mooney’s brash and boastful character is a big part of the joke.
All-in-all, it’s a funny appearance for Mooney, who unfortunately doesn’t get much chance to shine on SNL. The fact that SNL decided to build an entire bit around Baby Yoda is of course just more proof that the Mandalorian character has managed to completely take over pop culture as 2019 winds down. And that is actually kind of an amazing thing.
Source: SNL