Disney CEO Bob Iger defends the decision to not sell Baby Yoda toys during this holiday season. It didn't take long for the already-iconic character to become The Mandalorian's breakout star, winning over more and more fans with each episode thanks to his adorable antics. Baby Yoda's become a viral sensation over the past month and a half, inspiring countless pop culture mashups and a popular parody Twitter account. "The Child," as he's officially called, is even now a Disney+ profile icon option, illustrating how he's seized the zeitgeist since his surprise introduction. But for as omnipresent Baby Yoda is these days, he's been conspicuously absent on toy store shelves.
Out of respect for Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau's wish to keep Baby Yoda a secret until the show premiered on Disney+, the Mouse House intentionally bypassed the merchandising gold mine of Baby Yoda toys for Christmas. There was official tie-in merchandise featuring the cute infant, but the only products available were t-shirts and mugs. Lucasfilm's licensing partners do have Baby Yoda toys for pre-order, but by holding off on releasing them until 2020, Disney lost an estimated $2.7 million in revenue. Even with that statistic, Iger is OK with how things played out.
Appearing on The Star Wars Show last week, Iger talked about Baby Yoda's impact and addressed the lack of merchandise on store shelves. In his comments, Iger once again reiterated how important it was to preserve the secrecy:
"I know a lot's been said about it's the Christmas season and everybody wants to buy The Child toys and etc. and so on. And they're not really out there, and that's because if we had given the design out, it would have gone out to hundreds and hundreds of people probably all over the world and we didn't want to do that. So, people will have to wait, which I think actually is a good thing in this case."
Even a company as powerful as Disney can't prevent everything from leaking out. There were a number of Rise of Skywalker products that circulated online in the buildup to Triple Force Friday, such as the new BB-8 Funko Pop and LEGO packaging. Odds are even if Baby Yoda toys weren't allowed to come out until shortly after the show's premiere, the character himself would have been unveiled much earlier than desired, negatively affecting the impact of Baby Yoda's reveal. Disney even withheld the character from official marketing materials such as trailers, so they were serious about keeping the character under wraps. This development proved to be frustrating for fans, but there's something admirable in Disney sticking with the artist's intent.
And, to be fair, Disney knew they were going to make a fortune off Baby Yoda toys in the near future, which is probably what made this decision a little easier than some might think. The character's overwhelming popularity may have caught Iger by surprise, but a savvy businessman like him probably figured there was a lot of money to be made, no matter what time of year The Child is in toy stores. And with The Mandalorian season 2 coming through the pipeline, Baby Yoda is not going to be a passing fad who fades away in the next few months. Especially with the Star Wars movies about to go on hiatus, Baby Yoda is arguably the face of the franchise now.
Source: The Star Wars Show