Bob Iger has spoken: Disney boss knows Baby Yoda’s real name, but his lips are sealed

With Season 1 of The Mandalorian now over, Star Wars fans can begin to dissect and discuss the first eight episodes currently streaming on Disney+.

One of the biggest mysteries still lingering in the galaxy far, far away is the name and species of the creature we've all come to call "Baby Yoda." Sometimes referred to as "The Child" or "The Asett," the slow-growing toddler has become the breakout star of the series created by Jon Favreau, who — along with a select few — knows the character's true title.

"I know its real name and it’s one of the reasons why I have extra security now, because I don’t wanna be given some kind of truth serum by someone," Disney CEO Bob Iger said during an extended interview on The Star Wars Show. We don’t refer to The Child the way the world is referring to [the character], which is ‘Baby Yoda.’ That’s a no-no. It’s not [Yoda]. I got chastised in my early emails to Jon Favreau for [calling him that]. It just seemed easy. I got my wrist slapped by Jon a few times [who said,] ‘It’s not Baby Yoda!’"

Following its world debut alongside Disney+ in November, The Mandalorian went on to become the most in-demand show on the planet. Naturally, Baby Yoda (or whatever his real name is) had a lot to do with that and even inspired fans to knit and/or crochet their own versions of the character as they awaited licensed merchandise to hit the market.

“I think it’s exceeded our expectations — all of our expectations," Iger also said during the interview. "But I knew the moment I saw an early cut of the first episode that we had something really special. And I really felt it. I’ve been in the business for 45 years, worked my way up through television mostly [and] remember times throughout my career in television when I saw either a character or an actor playing a character when you just knew."

As for what the future of Star Wars holds beyond Season 1 and The Rise of Skywalker (now playing in theaters), an announcement on the next big screen Lucasfilm project is expected to arrive early in the new year. In addition, Season 2 of The Mandalorian is already filming and Favreau confirmed on Twitter today that it would debut next fall. His tweet included a photo of what looks like one of the Gamorrean guards from Jabba's Palace in Return of the Jedi.

"First we have to tell people what the baby’s name is and then we’ll start talking about what’s next," Iger joked. “It just feels like we’re just starting to mine the full potential of what Star Wars is and what Star Wars can be … I get a sense that the future is far more vast than we expected it to be and there’s a lot that lies ahead ... We’ll continue to tell stories between now and whenever the next film is. And while we’re doing that, we will work to find what makes the most sense to be released as a big screen experience. There are a number of choices, a number of discussions, [and] there are a number of very talented people and that to me, is very exciting. In the meantime, fans of Star Wars are being well-served with The Mandalorian and what’s to come with the prequel to Rogue One [focusing on Cassian Andor], and with Obi-Wan, and with Clone Wars."

Read our in-depth of the Season 1 finale click here. To see how Twitter reacted to the final episode, click here.