The Child in the fourth episode of “The Mandalorian.”
The Child in the fourth episode of “The Mandalorian.” | DTCI Media via Disney

By Herb Scribner

Build-A-Bear announced it will soon start selling a Baby Yoda stuffed animal after the creature from “The Mandalorian” went viral at the end of 2019.

What’s going on: Build-A-Bear will now have a stuffed-animal version of “The Child” available for customers, Business Insider reports.

  • Build-A-Bear CEO Sharon Price John said this will put the company ahead of the pack.
  • John: “I’m excited to share we will be one of the first companies to provide the digital and internet phenomenon who is trending higher than all the presidential candidates combined. We now will have The Child, also known as Baby Yoda.”

Partnership: John said Build-A-Bear teamed with Disney and Lucasfilm to bring the Baby Yoda figure to the store. The process began after the first episode of “The Mandalorian.”

Viral success: Baby Yoda achieved viral fame since “The Mandalorian” released its first episode back on Nov. 12, 2019. The character wasn’t revealed until the end of the pilot episode, sending shockwaves throughout culture.

  • Baby Yoda became an instant meme on social media.

Yes, but: Finding Baby Yoda merchandise has been hard. Disney didn’t prepare any before the holiday season in order to keep the character a surprise, as reported by the Deseret News.