The Mandalorian; a TV series chronicling the adventures of a nameless bounty hunter in a galaxy far, far away, has arguably been a bigger hit with Star Wars fans than The Rise of Skywalker - the final movie of the sequel trilogy. Airing on Disney's new streaming service Disney+, it's already fared well with both audiences and critics.

However, when the first episode dropped the main talking point wasn't on the subject of the story or special effects. Instead, fans instantly fell in love with 'The Child' - an infant alien who appears to be the same species as the Jedi master Yoda.

Check out this cool behind-the-scenes video on Baby Yoda shared by Jon Favreau: 

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Since then, fans have been churning out memes and tributes to the adorable little alien with gusto, and that enthusiasm shows no sign of stopping. In typical Star Wars fashion, Baby Yoda has also been a major merchandising opportunity. Here's some good news: you can now purchase a life-size replica of the character of Baby Yoda to have in your own home.

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The replica model is currently being sold on Sideshow Collectibles for $350. Preorders for the figure open today, but it’s not expected to arrive until August/October 2020. Measuring 16-and-a-half inches tall, the figure is constructed out of fabric, plastic, and resin and looks just like the real thing.

In a recent interview with Collider series creator, Jon Favreau spoke about how secretive Disney has been about merchandise, so as to prevent spoilers. The Iron Man director stated: "I have to thank Disney and Lucasfilm because the way the cat usually gets out of the bag with that stuff is merchandising and toy catalogs and things like that.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Sideshow Collectables]]

He added: "So they really back us up. We really wanted to have it be that you had to watch it yourself, so that every time you watch the show, there are new twists and secrets that come out."

It's never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan. The Rise of Skywalker, the last film in the sequel trilogy, is on the horizon, and The Mandalorian TV series has dropped on the new streaming service Disney+.

This week, while we watched the adventures of the mysterious bounty hunter who was chasing down perps in a galaxy far, far away, we  were treated to a glimpse of a baby alien that looked like an infant member of Yoda's species, and fans on social media have already fallen in love with the little green tot.

Typically for Star Wars, it looks like there's already going to be some official merchandise which will hit stores just in time for Christmas this year.

Take a look at the trailer for The Mandalorian below:

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There are already two T-shirts available – costing $22.99 and $25.99 respectively – with more clothing and accessories becoming available in the coming days. Amazon, Kohl’s, Target, Macy’s, Hot Topic, BoxLunch, and Zazzle will all carry the upcoming merch, as well as Disney Stores, shopDisney, and Disney theme parks.

In a recent interview with Collider series creator, Jon Favreau spoke about how secretive Disney has been about merchandise, so as to prevent spoilers. The Iron Man director stated: "I have to thank Disney and Lucasfilm because the way the cat usually gets out of the bag with that stuff is merchandising and toy catalogs and things like that."

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He continued: "So they really back us up. We really wanted to have it be that you had to watch it yourself, so that every time you watch the show, there are new twists and secrets that come out."

Fans have really fallen in love with the pint-sized Yoda. Recently, one of the directors of the series has had to speak out on the subject of the baby's name.

Back in the 1990s, before the joys of smartphones and social media, kids used to play with these things called "toys". Toys came in all shapes and sizes - from miniature cars to collectible cards to little plastic dolls - but one of them triumphed over all the rest. It was small, it was soft, and it was rumoured to be worth an insane amount of money.

We're talking, of course, about the Beanie Baby.

For years, both children and adults alike flocked to stores to buy the latest Beanie Babies, almost always in the hope that - one day - they'd be worth a decent amount of dough. A lot of the time, this idea was scoffed at, and people who had spent a significant amount of their savings on stuffed animals were ridiculed for believing such a thing.

As it turns out, though, the Beanie Baby fans were right all along, as some of the toys are now worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, it's only a very select few that have such a huge price tag, but if you have one of them, you could be sitting on a fortune...

1. Gobbles

This Thanksgiving, be thankful for your childhood toys - especially this one, as it's worth $6,667.

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2. Pouch

This girl might be tiny, but she comes with a huge price tag of $10,000.

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3. Snort

$7,500 for one Beanie Baby? What bull!

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4. Wallace, Cashew, and Huggy

This small collection is the most expensive of the lot, and is currently on eBay for a whopping $680,000.

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5. Holiday Teddy

Christmas might have come early for you if you have this $10,000 bear.

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6. Halo

If you have a rare white-starred angel bear, it could be worth up to $13,500.

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7. Spangle

Show your patriotism by splashing out $1,289.99 on this little guy.

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8. Britannia The Bear

Or hop across the pond and get this fella for $13,995.

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9. Seaweed

This otterly gorgeous little critter is worth an astounding $30,000.

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10. Hope

If you want $25,000, you'd better make like this bear and pray you have some pricey Beanie Babies in your attic.

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11. Jake

What could $16,000 buy you? A new car? A fancy holiday? Or maybe this stuffed duck?

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12. Claude the Crab

This snappy little guy is worth $30,000.

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13. Valentino

If you have one of these with a misspelled tag, it could go for as much as $42,299.

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14. Blackie the Bear

Depending on which generation it is, your bear could score you around $50,000.

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15. Hippity

This sweet little creature is also worth $50,000.

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16. Bubbles

This magnificent creature is up for $176,000 on eBay - making it thousands of times more expensive than a real fish.

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17. Patti the Platypus

The magenta-coloured Patti is the priciest, coming in at $19,500 online.

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18. 15-inch Peace bear and 9-inch Peace, Ringo and Bones

$358,000 for a few toys!? You're taking the peace!

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19. "Large" Ariel and 9" friends, Issy, Ariel, and Peanut

This gang might not look all that, but they're worth $578,000.

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20. Princess Bear

A dedication to Princess Diana, this bear is worth an enormous $677,000.

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So, if you've still got some Beanie Babies lying around amongst your childhood possessions, get looking! You never know: you could be in for a huge surprise.

It's fair to say that the new Disney+ TV series, The Mandalorian, has been a big hit with Star Wars fans, although maybe not for any of the reasons we expected. The show chronicles the adventures of a nameless Mandalorian bounty hunter who resembles Boba Fett; but it was the character of The Child (an alien who resembles a young version of Jedi Master Yoda) who people really engaged with.

In true Star Wars fashion, there's plenty of Baby Yoda related merchandise available for Christmas. But this week gamers were also in for a sneaky sci-fi surprise when it was announced that Baby Yoda would be crossing over to the latest Sims game!

Using my Jedi mind powers, I command you to watch the trailer for The Mandalorian: 

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Yes, players of the fourth iteration of the phenomenally-successful life simulation game were delighted to find that Baby Yoda is now available in-game as a special decorative item.

The gnome-like Baby Yoda figure was added to the game a free bonus content in the latest update. Players can find the little green creature by searching in build/buy mode under ''sculptures'', or by searching for him by entering ''Baby Yoda''.

The item is listed as: 'The Child Statue' (available for just 503 Sims dollars) with the caption reading: "This statue is a lovable replica inspired by the Disney+ live-action series, The Mandalorian."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/janeyysims/status/1205203902087364609]]

In a recent interview with Collider series creator, Jon Favreau spoke about how secretive Disney has been about merchandise, so as to prevent spoilers. The Iron Man director stated: "I have to thank Disney and Lucasfilm because the way the cat usually gets out of the bag with that stuff is merchandising and toy catalogs and things like that."

He added: They really back us up. We really wanted to have it be that you had to watch it yourself, so that every time you watch the show, there are new twists and secrets that come out."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/SimGuruNinja/status/1205201670704992256]]

But if you're looking for a Baby Yoda stocking-filler to buy in real-life, then why not check out some of this brand-new Baby Yoda merchandise?

It's perfectly normal for most people to play with dolls when they're kids (or with action-figures, if your masculinity is so fragile that you insist that they're totally different) but it isn't a hobby that most people carry on with in adulthood. A small child cradling a little plastic baby and pushing it along in a pram is cute, but an adult doing the same thing will probably get weird looks from strangers, and might even have others questioning their sanity.

It's a double standard, but there's something about dolls that most people find kind of unsettling when they grow up. Maybe it's the uncanny valley effect: where things that look almost realistically human but not quite human enough have a weird way of getting under our skin. One woman who understands this phenomenon all too well is Ivy Clarke, who's become something of an Instagram celebrity among 'reborn' (über-realistic baby doll) aficionados for her pictures and videos of her own dolls. Unfortunately, she also deals with an unwarranted amount of harrassment and abuse from trolls and detractors who allegedly find the dolls "creepy."

Ivy, who has three grown-up real children, lives in Queens in New York City, and first became interested in reborns earlier this year. She already collected more cutesy dolls, but when she spotted how realistic one of the reborns looked on eBay, she was immediately intrigued. She initially baulked at the steep price tag (some reborns cost around $1,000) but eventually found one at a discount of $175 . Eventually she tracked down the doll's twin for $120, and devoted her Instagram entirely to the reborns. That was when she first noticed a negative reaction from people who stated that they found the plastic effigies unsettling.

"People can be very negative, and say the dolls are creepy," Ivy stated in a recent interview. "But they look like babies and babies are cute, not creepy. People collect all sorts of things so I don’t understand why this is seen as so weird. Everyone is always trying to find a deeper reason for collecting reborns, like that you miss having young children yourself, but the truth is I genuinely like them and appreciate the craft that goes into making them. What the reborn community loves most about the dolls is that they are beautiful art works that never throw up or grow up."

She added: "Having seen how much work goes into each doll, I can completely see how they’re so expensive to buy. From scratch, I imagine they could take months to make. Some of them even have individual hairs sewn in ... Before I take their picture, I like to look up ‘reborns’ on Google to see what other people have done with them. That way it looks a bit more professional. I haven’t had any negativity on Instagram. All I ever get is compliments about how cute they are."

Indeed, Ivy is keen to stress that she isn't delusional, and that she doesn't think that they're real or can talk to her. Similarly, she knows that they're no substitute for real kids. However, she appreciates them for their appearance, and even tries to educate her critics by arguing that collecting reborns is no different from hoarding stamps, coins or baseball cards.

So maybe Ivy's hobby isn't for everyone, but that's fine. It doesn't mean she has to be subjected to abuse online. I guess that old idiom is true: if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.