'Star Wars': Baby Yoda is way cuter than 'vile' porgs, John Boyega says

Brian Truitt | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' proclaims the end of the saga The final trailer for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," the final movie in the 42-year Skywalker saga, is here.

NEW YORK – Baby Yoda fever is sweeping the nation after the floppy-eared, Force-sensitive, Werner Herzog-approved child has stolen nearly every scene of the new Disney+ streaming "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian."

The phenomenon has even caught on in the camp of the upcoming "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" movie: John Boyega is a big fan of the little scamp.

"So cute, man. I love Baby Yoda," Boyega tells USA TODAY. "And you know what? I'm against everyone that wants to give that baby another name except for Baby Yoda. That is Baby Yoda."

Technically, the kid who's been in the center of the action with Pedro Pascal's helmeted Mandalorian is probably not Yoda: The 900-year-old Jedi master died in 1983's "Return of the Jedi" (though does appear as a Force ghost in 2017's "The Last Jedi") and "The Mandalorian" takes place after that. But Baby Yoda does appear to be from the same rare alien species.

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That all said, "I don't care about the timeline," Boyega adds. "I don't care that it doesn't make sense. That's Baby Yoda."

Boyega, who plays Stormtrooper-turned-hero Finn in "The Rise of Skywalker, thinks Baby Yoda is much cuter than a porg.

"I've been open about my thoughts about porgs," he said. "They're vile, disgusting creatures."

With "Rise of Skywalker" ending the current movie trilogy begun by 2015's "The Force Awakens" – and the 42-year-old Skywalker saga George Lucas started with his original 1977 "Star Wars" – Boyega sees a chance for many more new characters like Baby Yoda to get the spotlight, either in feature films or on streaming shows.

But with "Star Wars" movies on a bit of a hiatus following "Rise of Skywalker," that future is uncharted.

"There's always the question of what they're going to do next," Boyega says. "The Skywalker saga is done but it leaves a big question mark. I guess that's the whole thing. We've just gotten used to a world where there's consistent 'Star Wars' and now it's not going to be the case."