Star Wars fans have content to choose from, mainly The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and while they are set in the same universe, that doesn’t mean characters from one have to appear in the other. Still, many fans hoped that Baby Yoda would appear in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but that couldn’t have been possible for many reasons. The Skywalker saga has now come to an end with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker after over 40 years of Skywalker history, bringing together the prequels, original films, and the sequels.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follows the Resistance’s final stand against the First Order, and the latter is revealed to have been aided by the supposedly dead Sheev Palpatine. At the same time, Kylo Ren’s inner battle between both sides of the Force continues, as well as Rey’s Jedi training. The film did its best to answer some of the plot holes left by the previous sequels, such as Rey’s backstory, and it also featured a lot of fan service moments – but not one that some fans were hoping for.
With the arrival of The Mandalorian on Disney+ weeks before the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, many fans were hoping to see Baby Yoda in the film, which obviously didn’t happen.
Why Baby Yoda Isn’t In Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Baby Yoda, referred to in the series as “The Child”, was The Mandalorian’s best kept secret, as viewers had no idea it existed until the series came out. The character became the biggest hook of the series, drawing the attention of many, even those who are not really into Star Wars. The Child is around fifty years old but he’s still an infant, and is from the same species as Yoda (of course) and Jedi Master Yaddle. The Mandalorian takes place five years after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, which is why many characters from the saga don’t appear in it.
That means that the series takes place 25 years before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the gap between The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker is obviously bigger. Given that The Mandalorian isn’t over yet, and the second season will arrive in late 2020, having Baby Yoda in The Rise of Skywalker wouldn’t have been a good idea, as it would have spoiled the series’ story – or even worse, it would have created plot holes. As mentioned above, Baby Yoda was the series’ best kept secret, and the reason why toys and other products related to the character took so long to be released is because Jon Favreau wanted to avoid it being leaked. Having him in The Rise of Skywalker would have been a big risk, as it would have been way easier for it to leak, affecting the series.
Baby Yoda, just like Mando, has his own story in The Mandalorian, and it’s better that way. Whether he will jump to the big screen at some point or not is unknown, but for now, let his arc and character be developed separately and at its own pace.
