If there’s one thing we know for certain in this world it’s that Baby Yoda is cute as heck. This is a fact. We know this.
But as it turns out, Baby Yoda (known officially as The Child) wasn’t always the cute being we’ve come to know and love. In the fifth episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, the producers revealed that the early concept art for the beloved character is… not quite as cute.
To be quite honest, he looks like that extreme closeup of Squidward Tentacles, you know the one I’m talking about. But hey, I’m sure his mum thinks he’s cute.
Let’s just say we’re glad that they went with the Baby Yoda we all know and love because this creature doesn’t quite have the same charm to it.
“We got lots and lots of drawings,” The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau said. “Some of them were too cute, some of them were too ugly, some of them were the wrong proportions.”
When they say “too ugly”, we can only assume they’re talking about the hairy old man pictured above.
But this isn’t the only early design they shared in the docuseries. For starters, there was this glorious creation that we’re going to call “sweet grandma Yoda”
Oh, and then there’s this familiar face. The closest thing to the Baby Yoda we love today.
“Finally there was one image that Chris Alzmann did that had him wrapped up in what looked like a piece of a flight jacket,” Favreau said in the doco. “His eyes were a little weird, and he looked a little out of it, there was something a little off with it. But we found it charming, and that became the rallying image that we said, ‘This is good.’ And it developed from there.”
Image: Disney+
That’s better. Peace has been restored.
I guess this just goes to show the hard work that goes in to making the characters we love. Thank god Disney+ took the original Baby Yoda back to the drawing board, because the final version is quite literally perfect.
These are just some of the countless concept artworks drawn up in the development phase of The Mandalorian, all of which are shown in the docuseries for your viewing pleasure. By the end of it, you’ll be even more grateful that the team at Disney+ gave us the adorable Baby Yoda we have today.
The Mandalorian and Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian are both now available to watch on Disney+.
