Emperor Palpatine could be the one looking for Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. It's an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan. Both Disney and Lucasfilm will be delighted at the popular and critical reception for The Mandalorian, which proves the future is bright for the Star Wars franchise even though it's taking a hiatus from the big screen after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
At the heart of the show's success is the unexpected introduction of a new member of Yoda's species, a cute infant who has officially been called "The Child" but who has been dubbed "Baby Yoda" by viewers. Yoda's race has always been a mystery, with George Lucas reluctant to reveal anything about them, but this inevitably seems like the first step in opening these diminutive aliens up for further exploration. This particular little green infant is apparently 50 years old, and shows every sign of being as powerful in the Force as both Yoda and Yaddle. More concerning, though, is the fact that an Imperial Remnant appears to want the infant, for as-yet-undisclosed reasons.
Most viewers have assumed that the Imperial Remnant hunting Baby Yoda are destined to become the First Order. But it's important to remember that Lucasfilm has always liked to synergize their content, meaning it's possible this is another force; a group of Palpatine loyalists who are due to emerge from the shadows in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Palpatine Has Been Hunting Force Sensitive Children Since The Clone Wars
Palpatine is a master schemer, and even now there are plenty of loose ends to his plans that are still being tied together. One of those plot threads began in The Clone Wars season 2, when the Jedi Council discovered that the bounty hunter Cad Bane was using the chaos of the Clone Wars to surreptitiously kidnap Force-sensitive children from across the galaxy. Darth Sidious appeared to be performing surgical procedures on these infants in order to transform them into Sith spies, but frankly that explanation seems questionable; Palpatine had already prepared Order 66, which would have meant this was pretty superfluous.
Star Wars has recently hinted that Force-sensitive children continued to disappear during the reign of the Empire; in fact, one book suggested that Darth Vader himself kidnapped children from Rim-worlds. George Mann's Star Wars: Myths & Fables is a collection of in-universe fables, but many of them are clearly inspired by actual historical events. One myth recounts Darth Vader's activities on the primitive world of Cerosha, suggesting he slaughtered adults who were strong in the Force - but that he took the children. It's unclear whether Darth Vader was acting independently or on his Master's orders. If the latter is the case, then Palpatine's mysterious abductions continued across the galaxy for decades.
This idea was revisited in the Jedi: Fallen Order game, which revealed that Darth Vader had personally broken Jedi Padawans such as Trilla Suduri. Once broken, Trilla had been subjected to just the kind of experiments Palpatine had been preparing for those children back in The Clone Wars, transforming her into a cybernetic being who was enslaved to the dark side of the Force. But, crucially, the game revealed that Darth Vader captured other Younglings along with Trilla. And there aren't enough Inquisitors to suggest all of them were subjected to the same process. The game begins to provide an explanation for this mystery, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
Palpatine Could Have Been Hunting Baby Yoda For A Long Time
It's important to note that this isn't academic, because the Force-sensitive infant in The Mandalorian is confirmed to be over 50 years old; his race apparently age at a slower rate than most species. That means this Force-sensitive toddler was actually born before Palpatine even became Chancellor of the Republic in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, in the year dated 7940CRC. It also means the Child has lived through the Dark Times of the Empire's reign, and even through the Galactic Civil War.
The origin of the Child is currently a mystery. One common theory is that Baby Yoda was created by Palpatine himself, cloned by the Kaminoans from Yoda's own DNA, and rescued from Palpatine's clutches by unknown forces. Whether that is the case or not, it's certain that the Empire acquired Baby Yoda at some point or another, simply because they've been able to key a tracking fob to the infant's biosignals. Somehow, though, the Child slipped through the Empire's grasp, and wound up secreted away on a remote Rim-world, protected by a mysterious militia.
Palpatine Could Still Be Hunting For Baby Yoda In The Mandalorian
All this leads to the year 7990CRC, a decade after the events of Return of the Jedi, and the setting of The Mandalorian. It's important to note that, at this point in the timeline, the Empire should really have been gone. According to Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy, all the remaining Imperial forces had gathered in the skies over the planet Jakku for a desperate last stand against the New Republic. In the aftermath of that defeat, the handful of survivors had fled, withdrawing to the Unknown Regions. The New Republic had been so convinced the threat was over that they had actually begun to disarm.
But The Mandalorian suggests that an Imperial Remnant is still operating in the galaxy's shadows. They're scattered across the Rim, wary of exposing themselves and hiring bounty hunters to do their bidding; there may even be an Imperial outpost on Tatooine, given the Stormtrooper helmets seen in The Mandalorian episode 5 appeared to be fresh. This appears to contradict the established narrative, that the Empire had retreated into the Unknown Regions and regrouped out there, becoming the First Order. That raises the distinct possibility that they are another faction - and the fact they're still serving Palpatine's goals suggests they may be loyalists. It's worth noting that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Palpatine had been a shadowy presence in the galaxy for years, personally seducing Kylo Ren to the dark side. This could well be another of his schemes.
How Baby Yoda Could Fit Into Palpatine's Schemes
But why would Palpatine want Baby Yoda? The most likely reason is that the Emperor could consider this a perfect body to inhabit, given the Child's clear power in the Force. George Lucas always imagined that some races would have a greater degree of Force-sensitivity than others. "It is said that certain creatures are born with a higher awareness of the Force than humans," Lucas explained in an in-universe analysis back in 1977. "Their brains are different; they have more midichlorians in their cells." The Sith are known to possess a power called "Essence Transfer," which allows their spirit to move from one body to another. No doubt the Emperor would be fascinated with the idea of inhabiting a body as strong in the Force as Master Yoda or one of his species.
Another alternative, of course, is that Palpatine intended to rebuild the Inquisitors; to create agents of the dark side who he could use against Luke Skywalker and the Jedi he was attempting to train at this point in time. That would certainly establish a nice thread of continuity between Jedi: Fallen Order, The Mandalorian, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - and it would appeal to the Emperor's ego, to have a Yoda-like being as his slave.