Over the last few years, streaming services have all but usurped the home entertainment industry, all while reshaping our cultural mindset.
Netflix paved the way for “Netflix and Chill.” Hulu disrupted the OnDemand Cable TV landscape. AmazonPrime became the modern equivalent of HVC while DC catered to comic-obsessed virgins, and CBS All Access gave you another place to watch remakes of 80s cop shows. But on November 12th, The Walt Disney Company and Disney+ set out to do the one thing none of the others couldn’t do… And by that, we mean “stream any movies and programs owned by Disney”; and since that list includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel Comics, Fox, and National Geographic (we’re looking at you, “sagging pygmy titty-lovers”), it’s a bold move to grab a massive and loyal audience.
It’s the House of Mouse’s ownership of Star Wars that might prove most impactful. Since Disney has all-but set the standard for the creation of an extended universe through their own properties, the further expansion of the Star Wars universe through spinoff media has almost infinite potential. Enter their most recent foray, ‘The Mandalorian.’
Here’s a look:
With actor/writer/director Jon Favreau at the helm, the series (which has been described as a ‘space western’) follows Din Jarron, a gun-slinging Mandalorian bounty hunter portrayed by Pedro Pascal. To date, we’ve only seen two episodes of the first season, which consists of eight episodes in full. Guest appearances have included Carl Weathers, Taiki Waititi, Werner Herzog, Gina Carano, and the voice of Nick Nolte. It has also reintroduced some familiar races, such as the Jawas, IG-unit bounty hunters as well as those from Bossk’s world. And if you understood those references, guess what, you’re a f*cking nerd.
But, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that the breakout star has been the target whose safe transport off Arvala-7 the Mandalorian has been tasked with. Of course, we’re talking about the adorable, wide-eyed infant from Yoda’s homeworld. Here’s a look at the adorable little dude…
Awwwwwwwwwwww…..
Correcting the misstep of ‘The Last Jedi’s’ Porgs, Baby Yoda is probably Disney’s most successful toy tie-in cash grab since Baby Groot busted a move inside his pot. Even the haters and Star Wars purists seem to love (the criminally mis-named) “Baby Yoda,” meaning that there will be endless toys and cross-marketing opportunities. Needless to say, Japanese automaker Toyota wants in on the deal.
The obvious overlap between “Toy Yoda” and “Toyota” has been bastardized by afternoon radio deejays since the mid-90s. It was done to death. “If you’re the sixth caller, you’ll win a brand new Toy Yoda!” And of course, the winner thinks they won a car, only to learn that the radio station plans to send them a small, green action figure. And while it’s never a waste of time to develop a hatred of radio deejays, we still can’t believe that an actual partnership is being formed between Toyota, Lucasfilm and Disney.
There’s little in the way of details, but we can only assume that it will be some sort of Limited Edition vehicle release – similar to Hyundai’s horribly-shitty ‘Iron Man’ Edition of the Honda. In fact, we can only assume that it would be some sort of Yaris hatchback in pale green wrapped in beige burlap (but what do we know). Ultimately, time will tell.
But whatever happens, don’t let it ruin your enjoyment of the ‘The Mandalorian.’ For fans and noobs alike, we recommend that you make viewing this program a priority. And by ‘priority,’ we mean ‘ask someone for their log-in info because paying for another streaming platform is fiscally irresponsible.’
