I’m pretty sure they’re using both a puppet and a CGI double for certain shots.
It will be a combination of CGI and puppet, but not separate, just combinations. Digital blinks and expression enhancements, digitally removing the puppeteers and the rods. Much like how BB-8 is done, which is practical 90% of the time, but with its puppeteer digitally removed.
If they’re going with the old fan theory that Yoda’s people are the Whills themselves, then it’d make sense for them to be inherently strong in the Force. Presumably that’s why Grand Moff Herzog is so desperate for a living specimen of one.
Aside: God, does any actor on earth do disaffected and tired better than Werner Herzog? He’s great when someone can convince him to get in front of the camera instead of behind it.
He’s great behind it, too, of course.
I’ve been calling it Boda for Baby Yoda.
My personal theory right now is that Boda is a Yoda clone. It would fit the timeline (they were developed for decades before Obi Wan met Jengo) and it would fit thematically with the most famous Mandalorian to us previously was Boba, a clone himself.
And if Boda survives this series, how old would s/he be “now” entering episode 9 of the movies? 70 or so? How much bigger would s/he be developmentally?
Also, how much more cuteness can I take before my heart explodes?
I don’t think it’s a Yoda clone, nobody in this story should know who Yoda was, but I do think Doctor Pershing wants to clone him.
They aren’t going to do the whole Trope of:
Werner Herzog gets Baby-Yoda and it is revealed he intends to kill it or do some kind of torture on it…leading Mandalorian to fight for the baby-yoda’s life. Causing the Mandalorian to be outcast from the bounty hunter system.
Torture baby Yoda by making it watch Stroszek so it Ian Curtises itself.
They could make it watch “My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?”
I don’t see how they could possibly use Baby Yoda in the movie in any sort of meaningful way, or even a cameo. The Marvel division of Disney was extremely careful not to make anything in a movie depend in the slightest way, and I’m sure the Star Wars division will be at least as smart. Making casual moviegoers think they have to catch up with a TV show to understand the movie is much more likely to suppress movie turnout than it is to increase TV/streaming viewership.
And given that the final episode of the Mandalorian drops a week after “Rise of Skywalker”, even a cameo would be a spoiler to the show. I think this story line is going to be completely self-contained. There’s no reason in the movie universe to believe that Force sensitives would be able to detect Baby Yoda - they couldn’t detect full grown Yoda after all, and they knew he existed. The whole “Yoda was hidden by the Dark Force tree” device is an EU thing only, not in the movies at all.
I think a lot of people make the mistake of forgetting how big the Galaxy is. IIRC, the novelization of A New Hope states that there’s about one billion inhabited worlds in the Galaxy. There’s no need for this particular youngling (see what I did there?) to be related to Yoda, or a clone of Yoda, or a reincarnated Yoda, or have anything whatsoever to do with Yoda aside from being of the same species.
According to Wookieepedia, the series is set in 9 ABY. Episode VII & VIII take place a few days apart in 34 ABY, and I believe IX is set one year afterward, which would make the youngling 76 at that point.
I joined this weekend and watched the first two episodes and enjoyed them. A few things:
If the baby ends up being directly connected to Yoda (reincarnation, descendent etc.) other than being the same species, that is stupid. Star Wars has enough problems with Small Universe Syndrome. Tell me new stories.
In the lead up to the series since they hadn’t said much about the actor playing the title character I had convinced myself it would turn out to be a woman under the helmet but turns out I was wrong.
I like that it is being released week to week. I think binge watching can turn watching a show into a chore and releasing a season all at once encourages creators to not make individual episodes. I just wish I had a better idea as to when it comes out.
CoughDarthMaulCough.
The baby Yoda is the perfect candidate for Luke to train alongside Kylo Ren. Maybe they’re planning a Mark Hamill cameo.
I sure hope not. I love everyone’s grump Jedi grandpa as much as anyone but I really want to move on.
Episode 3 is up! And it’s awesome!
Bloody good job. Had a bad feeling, but the solidarity at the end saved it for me.
…was that an ice cream maker?
Yes.