If you do indeed celebrate it, I hope you folks out there had a nice Christmas yesterday. And if not, I hope your Wednesday was awesome as all heck! Either way, I know for a fact that nobody got a Baby Yoda yesterday. The breakout star of The Mandalorian was unavailable for purchase in any notable form for this holiday season because Disney really goofed by not having anticipated the global need for The Child. And analytics are now suggesting Mickey lost out on Scrooge McDuck levels of cash.
CNBC is reporting that the House of Mouse may have lost as much as $2.7 million this season by not having any toys available in 2019. However, Wall Street 24/7‘s editor-in-chief Jon C. Ogg has said that it may have even been upwards of hundreds of millions in lost potential.
“Again, it’s hard to pass any judgment on a team that has done so incredibly well,” says Ogg. “That said, it’s a wonder that Baby Yoda merchandise was not made ready ahead of the holidays, even if the company wanted Baby Yoda to be a total surprise. Yoda has been one of the most favored characters in the Star Wars universe.”
His first point is probably the most salient. I’m not sad that Disney lost out on money, either, but this is more an argument for us, the people, to be able to snuggle up with a green fluffball with magical healing powers. The secret angle is…eh, maybe. But people spoil everything all the time anyway. Post-pilot, there would be no way to keep Baby Yoda a secret. Also, nobody knew what the show was about whatsoever before it launched, so, I don’t know, I feel like you can make toys and keep ’em in the shadows with minimal effort.
But, Disney is listening…to a degree, as they also announced a brand new, fairly-cute plushie that’s due out earlier than any of the previously announced toys, which is still in March 2020. So, we gotta wait even longer. The Mandalorian‘s first season is almost over, as well, so we’re going to be entering a serious Baby Yoda drought here for a while. Uh-oh. What am I going to even write about now?