In a surprising turn of events, it's been revealed that internet darling Baby Yoda was kept a secret thanks to Beyoncé and Donald Glover. Baby Yoda is the widely adopted moniker for the character known as "The Child" on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, who has stolen the hearts of fans ever since the first episode.
The Mandalorian premiered earlier this year to mixed reviews, but if there's one thing almost all viewers can agree on, it's that Baby Yoda has stolen the show. In fact, Baby Yoda has become so well known that Disney CEO Bob Iger said Baby Yoda's popularity has eclipsed the company's expectations by "a wide margin." This might be one reason why Disney has been slow to merchandise the character, with most officially licensed Baby Yoda toys set to arrive in the next calendar year.
The news of the connection between Baby Yoda, Donald Glover and Beyoncé comes by way of The Hollywood Reporter. In THR's article, The Mandalorian series creator Jon Favreau explains it was a conversation he had with actor Donald Glover during the making of The Lion King which helped convince him keeping Baby Yoda a secret was the best strategy.
"We were talking about music and pop culture and he was saying that what people really like now is to be surprised, because it doesn't happen that much. When Beyoncé did an album, she would just put it online and everybody would react to it. Just putting it out there spurred a conversation that would become more viral and bring more genuine attention than any marketing."
It's certainly true that artists such as Beyoncé have capitalized on viral marketing to create consumer fervor. Her well-reviewed 2016 album Lemonade released exclusively on Tidal, which drummed up enormous traffic for the streaming service. It seems Donald Glover suggested to Jon Favreau that The Mandalorian should do something similar with Baby Yoda. Rather than market the character before release, he suggested that he should just put it "online," essentially allowing viewers to do the marketing themselves. The strategy seemed to work great until Baby Yoda GIFS were removed from the internet en masse, however, they have since been restored.
For now, The Child remains a bright light in an otherwise dim galactic world, although many have theorized a forthcoming sinister twist involving Baby Yoda. No matter what the future holds for the creature, it's certain Jon Favreau and the team at Disney pulled off a miraculous feat in keeping The Mandalorian character a secret, but who knows if it ever would've been possible if not for Beyoncé and Donald Glover.
Source: THR