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You know what to expect from the National Portrait Gallery, right? Iconic figures from public life. Not too many aliens, though – at least, until now. As of Friday, The Child – aka Baby Yoda – and his bounty hunter pal Din Djarin will be getting its illustrious seal of approval in an unusual collaboration between the gallery and Disney’s ‘The Mandalorian’.
The 3"2' oil portrait, commissioned to mark the release of season two of ‘The Mandalorian’ (available on Disney+ here on Earth), joins other ‘Star Wars’ alumni from the National Portrait Gallery in a special pop-up gallery: Sir Alec Guinness, Thandie Newton and Felicity Jones. The exhibition can be found at The Unit, 40 Earlham Street in WC2 – a brief stroll from the actual NPG.
The portrait is a collaboration between Lucasfilm concept artists Doug Chiang and John Park and ILM art director Christian Alzmann, the man who came up with the look of The Child and is thus responsible for at least a bazillion plushy sales. Some of their concept art for ‘The Mandalorian’ will also be on display.
If you’re sitting there thinking ‘The Manda-what?’, in a nutshell, this unlikely duo – terminator and toddler – form an unlikely bond that sees Mando shepherding The Child around the galaxy in a kind of intergalactic pram, offing villains as he goes. It’s insanely cute and quite exciting. ‘Star Wars’ fans will be counting down the minutes until it launches this weekend.
If you’re keen to take a closer look, be quick: the portrait is only hanging until Saturday. Pick up free tickets by emailing gallery@wdwentertainment.com.
Want more ‘Star Wars’ news? ‘The Mandalorian’ season two: everything you need to know.
Check out our list of the best art galleries in London.