The cute little critter known as Baby Yoda has a real name.
Disney
Fans of Baby Yoda, the breakout star of the Disney Plus series The Mandalorian, know that his name isn’t really Baby Yoda. But the little cutie does have a name, and it’s eventually going to be shared with viewers, Disney CEO Bob Iger said on The Star Wars Show on Friday.
Iger said that he made the mistake of using the “Baby Yoda” name in emails to series creator Jon Favreau, and “got my wrists slapped a bunch of times” for doing so. In the interview, he referred to the character as “The Asset,” or “The Child,” which is what it’s been called in the seven episodes of The Mandalorian that have aired so far.
There are many mysteries surrounding the character. Although its species was first seen back in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 when Yoda was introduced, the species and its home world have never been identified. But the creature has a real name, and Iger knows it.
“People really wanted to know, what’s its name?” Iger said. “I know its real name, and it is one of the reasons I’ve got all this extra security now. I don’t want to be given some kind of truth serum by someone.”
Later in the interview, Iger does eliminate a few name possibilities. “It’s not George,” he says, just in case anyone thought the 50-year-old baby would be named for Star Wars creator George Lucas. He also confirmed that it’s not Yoda or Topalino (Topalino being the Italian name for Mickey Mouse, which was joked about earlier in the interview). And while Iger didn’t say when, he suggested that the name will be revealed sooner rather than later.
It seems plausible that the name could begin with Y. Yoda’s name obviously does. So does the name of the one female creature we know from this species, Yaddle, who was part of the Jedi Council in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. But not all Yoda-species creatures have Y names — another male, Minch, appeared in Star Wars comics.
If the name is to be revealed in the eighth and final episode of the first season of The Mandalorian, there’s not much time to wait. That finale airs on Dec. 27 on Disney Plus. But The Favreau is already working on a second season, so the name-game mystery may linger.