Despite rampant fan theories attempting to prove that The Mandalorian's Baby Yoda could potentially be a younger version of the Jedi Master Yoda, series creator and showrunner Jon Favreau has emphatically shut down one particular chain of speculation.

"The series timeline takes place after Return of the Jedi," Favreau explained to USA Today. "And fans of the original trilogy will remember that Yoda not only passes away but actually disappears. So Yoda exists as a Force Ghost."

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Addressing the undeniable rise in popularity surrounding The Child -- extending to numerous memes and a swell of demand for merchandise -- Favreau offered his thoughts on how the character, and the name Baby Yoda, has resonated with pop culture the way they have: "[…] because there's no name for the Yoda species. It's the easiest, shortest, most hashtagable way to identify that character, which is identified in the episode as 'The Child.'" Favreau wouldn't be coaxed into answering whether The Child could potentially be related to Yoda in some way either, stating "Well, now you're getting into spoilers. I can't say. But there are a lot of theories about that."

Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Omid Abtahi, Werner Herzog and Nick Nolte. The entire first season is available to stream now on Disney+.

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