Baby Yoda isn’t actually a baby Yoda, Jon Favreau says

Baby Yoda was a latecomer to 2019 but dominated pop culture for the whole year with just a flick of his protruding green ears.

But maybe we never knew him at all — because Baby Yoda is not actually a baby Yoda.

“The Mandalorian” creator Jon Favreau told USA Today that the lovable green sprog couldn’t possibly be the old Jedi master — their timelines don’t line up.

“The series timeline takes place after ‘Return of the Jedi,'” he told the new outlet at the Golden Globes. “And fans of the original trilogy will remember that Yoda not only passes away but actually disappears. So Yoda exists as a force ghost.”

Baby Yoda, nameless in the series but referred to throughout as “the child,” earned his nickname quickly after the show’s premiere because it’s the “easiest, shortest, most hashtaggable way” to identify the character, though inaccurate, Favreau said.

The director played coy when asked whether Baby Yoda (or Baby Not-Yoda?) is related to the original character.

“I can’t say,” he said. “But there are a lot of theories about that.”

Those theories may be explored in the second season of “The Mandalorian,” which returns sometime in fall 2020. Fans won’t have to wait as long for Baby Yoda toys — those start shipping in May.

Patience, we must have.