When you think of Star Wars, you probably picture blue and red lightsabers, cool cloaks, very fast spaceships and Stormtroopers being absolutely useless with their blasters. But away from the Jedi and the Sith and the endless struggle for peace in the galaxy, there is another common theme in these iconic movies.
They may be lurking in the background, not doing much. They may be brief supporting characters who make a relatively big impact. Or, in the case of Grogu, they may absolutely steal the show. Yes, we’re talking about cute ‘baby’ alien creatures.
We’ll see a whole lot of the adorable green fella in The Mandalorian and Grogu later this year. But based on the latest trailer for the upcoming spinoff movie, it seems another mini version of a classic character could be about to steal our hearts – for better or worse.
The Mandalorian and Grogu Features ‘Baby Greedo’
Not only did that new trailer finally give us hope that The Mandalorian and Grogu might actually be a good movie, but it also gave us a glimpse of a character fans have dubbed ‘Baby Greedo’.
Wrapped up in a blanket and sitting in one of those handy floating baskets, this delightfully tiny dude is a blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it tease in the trailer. Indeed, we might not learn much more about him in the actual film. Likely, we’ll just have to call him Baby Greedo forever, even though, like Baby Yoda, he probably has a real name.
Regardless, he’s yet another example of the obsession the Star Wars franchise, especially in the Disney era, has with making audiences coo over precious, pint-sized life forms. Aside from merchandising opportunities, what can we glean from this, and is there a risk of baby saturation?
Disney Has Upped the Cute Critters in Star Wars
During the Disney era, The Last Jedi introduced us to the bird-like creatures, Porgs. They may have made a bit of an annoying noise, but their expressive eyes and quirky behaviour captured our hearts – they even managed to turn Chewbacca into a herbivore, which is no mean feat.
Then, in The Rise of Skywalker, Babu Frik was the life and soul of the party. His chaos and enthusiasm, plus his trademark hooting and hollering, made him an instant hit. Even those who were frustrated with the film itself (me) couldn’t deny that this good little droidsmith was worth the ticket admission alone.
However, it is of course Baby Yoda (or Grogu, if we really have to call him by his official name), who helped Disney strike gold. Even the designers and execs who created him had no idea how popular Grogu would be, leaving a dearth of merchandise that should have been readily available when the show first aired. There’s no doubt that The Mandalorian wouldn’t have been anywhere near as successful without him.
Too Much Nostalgia Baby-Bait Will End Up Pushing Fans Away
Of course, this is not exactly a new trend. Long before Disney bought Lucasfilm and the Star Wars IP, we were gifted some of the most lovable furry friends we could have asked for in Return of the Jedi. Yes, the Ewoks.
However, at the time, audiences were pretty negative about the natives of Endor. Fans insisted they were too cute, and merely a commercialised ploy that undermined the gravity of the fight against the Empire.
In a way, they were absolutely right. I love the Ewoks, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with inserting a token teddy bear or baby-faced extraterrestrial into the story. But they have to serve a purpose.
I’d say Disney got very lucky with Grogu. The fact that he’s a miniature version of the already diminutive Yoda obviously helped raise his appeal, but he’s a genuinely interesting, fun character in his own right. Whether he’s doing Force tricks or munching on smaller aliens, Grogu is endearing and entertaining, and he’s the driving force behind the story he’s involved in.
What audiences won’t put up with – at least not if it keeps happening – is Disney creating these baby versions of existing characters just for the sake of it. We don’t want to watch films or TV shows, and just do the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme at the things we recognise. Nostalgia-bait rarely works long-term. It just leaves a product feeling hollow and unoriginal, and that is never something we want to say about Star Wars.
Baby Greedo, you get a pass for now… but you better do something useful soon!
