Baby Yoda Is Getting Its Close Up With London’s National Portrait Gallery
Baby Yoda is set to take his rightful place at one of the U.K.’s foremost art galleries.
Titled “The Mandalorian and the Child,” the portrait, produced in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, has been unveiled at The Unit gallery in London. The Child is popularly referred to as Baby Yoda by fans of the series.
The portrait’s unveiling from Oct. 30-31 will coincide with the season 2 premiere of “The Mandalorian,” which streams on Disney Plus from Oct. 30.
The 3-feet-by-2-feet oil portrait will hang alongside some of the National Portrait Gallery’s own collection of portraits of familiar faces from the “Star Wars” galaxy, including Sir Alec Guinness, Thandie Newton, Felicity Jones, Ben Morris, Riz Ahmed and Gareth Edwards. The display will also include original concept art from “The Mandalorian,” created by artists Doug Chiang, John Park and Christian Alzman.
“The Mandalorian” is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. The first season followed the travails of a lone gunfighter (Pedro Pascal) in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. In the second season, the Mandalorian and the Child will continue their journey, facing enemies and rallying allies as they make their way through a dangerous galaxy in the tumultuous era after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.
Luke Bradley-Jones, senior vice president at Disney Plus, said: “This is truly the way to mark the arrival of the second season of ‘The Mandalorian.’ We are honored to unveil this portrait in collaboration with the esteemed National Portrait Gallery. The show and characters created by Jon Favreau have been embraced by fans across the U.K. who can now stand a step closer to inspect them on canvas before streaming the new episodes.”
Ros Lawler, chief operating officer at National Portrait Gallery, added: “There is no doubt that ‘Star Wars’ is a cultural phenomenon that has had a huge impact on popular culture and has involved a wide range of talent from across the British film industry. We are delighted to have worked with Disney Plus on the Star Wars display, which includes the painting of ‘The Mandalorian and the Child’. We hope that this unique collaboration between the Gallery and Disney Plus will encourage new audiences and young people to our collection, allowing them to come face to face with their ‘Star Wars’ heroes.”
“The Mandalorian” showrunner Jon Favreau serves as executive producer along with Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson, with Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck serving as co-executive producers.
“The Mandalorian” stars Pedro Pascal, with guest stars Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Directors for the new season include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez.
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