Could The Child be a reincarnation of the grizzled Yoda we all know and love? Seeing as Yoda passed away peacefully at the ripe old age of 900 in Return of the Jedi, it would certainly be a delight for fans who miss the small, humanoid alien. It would also mean there’s hope for more Yoda beyond apparitions of his living self in future Star Wars properties.
Redditor Elise Thomas told MTV News that she “knows it probably isn’t likely,” but it’s a storyline she’d love to see come to fruition.
“The whole Force ghost thing has been a little weird for me. I mean, why have Yoda pass away at all?” Thomas said. “Having Baby Yoda eventually grow up to be ‘regular’ Yoda would shock everyone, I know that. And it would finally give us some sort of idea as to where Yoda came from, and how he grew up.”
But there are a few kinks in Thomas’s theory, which she acknowledged. Yoda has appeared several times as a Force ghost throughout a handful of Star Wars films, so “if he could simply return to life as a newborn, why bother projecting himself as a Force ghost?” she asked.
There’s also the matter of the timeline we already know The Mandalorian takes place in. It’s set five years after Return of the Jedi, which itself took place in 5ABY (five years after the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope). This would place The Mandalorian in 10ABY. The Child is said to be 50 years old, which would find him having already existed for around 40 years before Yoda’s death. It doesn’t add up — but stranger things have happened.
“I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense. I just want it to be true for my own headcanon,” Thomas laughed. “Just let me have my little Yoda baby, OK?”
