Baby Yoda (aka The Child), the breakout star of Disney+'s The Mandalorian, is now the top-selling pre-order Funko Pop! figure of all time. Baby Yoda (although that's not his official name) was the biggest surprise of Disney's enormously popular series and has skyrocketed in popularity ever since. He's inspired all kinds of art from fans, everything from adorable snacks to pure nightmare fuel, so it's no surprise to see that fans have been chomping at the bit to get ahold of the new collectible since it was leaked in December.
The character made his debut in The Mandalorian's pilot episode and quickly became the driving force of the season's story. Pedro Pascal's titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin, went from trading the adorable force-sensitive baby for a bounty to fleeing across the galaxy to save him. In the season finale, Mando formally adopts The Child and the two return to running from the remnants of the Empire - embodied on the show by Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon. The finale makes it clear that The Child will continue to play a central role in the series - and presumably keep churning out best-selling toys - when it returns for season two in October.
Originally, in a now-deleted video on the official Funko Twitter account, Funko Art Director Reis O'Brien stated The Child figure is the company's top-selling item of all-time. In a statement to ComicBook, Funko issued a correction saying Baby Yoda is the top pre-order figure of all-time. This would explain why Funko's tweet with the video was taken down.
Initially, Baby Yoda merchandise was held back to preserve spoilers, and as a result, the first wave of merch was highly disappointing. With the character's Funko figure breaking records, it seems fans are finally satisfied. The incredible sales were, in part, driven by the lack of other options, but Funko's Baby Yoda monopoly will soon be ending. Hasbro announced a line of toys featuring the adorable green-skinned tike set to launch in May, and (even more exciting) the Sideshow Collectibles' life-size Baby Yoda is already available for pre-order.
For all the vitriol surrounding Star Wars of late, it's hard to deny that Disney has knocked the "cute creatures" portion of the job out of the park. After all, aside from Baby Yoda, Disney's time with the franchise also introduced fans to The Last Jedi's Porgs and The Rise of Skywalker's Babu Frik. With the market finally catching up to demand, it remains to be seen what new fan-obsessions The Mandalorian will introduce in season two.
Source: ComicBook