‘Star Wars’ Fans Are Freaking Out Over the Cutest Photo of George Lucas and Baby Yoda
Baby Yoda, meet your maker.
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, a new era of Star Wars began. And in the years since Star Wars: The Force Awakens released, fans have hotly debated whether the House of Mouse successfully resurrected the saga. Case in point, the sequel trilogy — especially The Last Jedi — are hot button topics for much of the fan base.
But one thing most Star Wars fans can agree on is The Mandalorian. Some viewers declared the Disney+ series the best thing for the franchise since the Disney takeover. Even those who are less enthusiastic about the show mostly admit it’s a step in the right direction for Star Wars. Now fans have gotten their glimpse at an endearing moment between The Mandalorian‘s breakout star and Star Wars creator George Lucas.
‘The Mandalorian’ sparked a viral sensation
Fans and critics have had largely good things to say about The Mandalorian. The show’s focus on a bounty hunter and the Star Wars underworld sheds new light on a part of the saga we’ve never really seen. And with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ending the Skywalker family story, the time is right to expand into new horizons.
The adventures of Pedro Pascal’s masked figure have led The Mandalorian down some intriguing twists and turns. But one of the show’s most unexpected moments comes at the end of the first episode. Sent to hunt down a target, the Mandalorian instead finds “The Child,” an unnamed alien infant of the same species as Yoda.
Of course, the character soon earned the name “Baby Yoda” and exploded into a million memes. The internet has been obsessed with Baby Yoda since his introduction, and his demonstrated Force sensitivity sets up an exciting new story for season 2. That being said, we doubt Lucas was concerned with the plot ramifications of the show when he met the little guy.
The ‘Star Wars’ creator meets Baby Yoda
Lucas paid a visit to the set of The Mandalorian at some point during its production. And show creator Jon Favreau recently tweeted a photo of Lucas holding Baby Yoda. Needless to say, fans have been loving this sweet glimpse at the Star Wars creator and the latest fan-favorite character to come out of the world he made.
Like his namesake, The Mandalorian‘s Baby Yoda is brought to life mostly due to puppetry. So it’s a fun behind-the-scenes moment to see Lucas embracing the character. Favreau doesn’t even need to caption it. The image — though a bit on the blurry side — speaks for itself. The sentiment of seeing Lucas and Baby Yoda is just as impactful nonetheless.
This epic meeting between Star Wars past and future also has a bit of a bittersweet edge to it. Although Lucas’ prequel trilogy divided fans, many have become wistful for his vision. After all, the filmmaker spent the vast majority of his career in the “galaxy far, far away.” So we imagine it’s strange for him too to see it carry on without him involved at all. Or is he?
What was George Lucas doing on ‘The Mandalorian’ set?
As adorable as the Lucas-Baby Yoda meeting is, it also raises the question of why the Star Wars creator was on set in the first place. Most likely, Favreau invited him over as a courtesy to honor Lucas’ indelible time in the saga. But then there are that pesky internet chatter about the filmmaker possibly playing a role in the saga’s future.
We know Lucas has been critical of some of the decisions Disney has made since his absence. However, no one knows this universe like him. Even The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams consulted with him before beginning work on that film’s script. So maybe the notion of Lucas providing additional guidance to Star Wars or even The Mandalorian itself isn’t so crazy after all. If he and Baby Yoda hit it off, perhaps a reunion is in order.
