The popularity of Disney+ has risen because of binging surges brought on by coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantines, and it's had the added benefit of creating an even higher demand for The Mandalorian-inspired Baby Yoda toys from Hasbro.
"We clearly have seen that streaming has become more of a force in making connections with consumers and driving merchandising," Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner told Yahoo Finance. "That’s always been a question: Could streamed content drive merchandising? And clearly Baby Yoda has done that. We saw that in the fourth quarter with some of our product directly related to ‘The Mandalorian.’ Our pre-sales around Baby Yoda have been incredibly robust and we’re very excited to ship Baby Yoda late spring."
From March 14-16, Disney+ tripled its signups from the previous weekend as people stayed inside and concern for coronavirus grew.
Baby Yoda, officially known as The Child, took the Internet by storm when The Mandalorian debuted with the launch of Disney+. Legions of memes and sightings from A-list celebrities made Baby Yoda a household name, even if he was never referred to as such in the series. However, in order to keep its secret weapon under wraps, Disney waited to reveal its Baby Yoda line of toys until after the premiere of The Mandalorian.
The soon-to-arrive merchandise includes action figures, plushes, backpacks and more. There's even an animatronic Baby Yoda that has over 25 sounds and motion combinations and promises to reach BB-8 levels of consumer sensation.
Baby Yoda toys are available for pre-order now from a variety of retailers and they will be released in the spring. The animatronic Baby Yoda will be available for the holiday season.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito and Emily Swallow. Season 1 is streaming now on Disney+, with Season 2 is slated to arrive in October.