The Star Wars universe is chock-full of fan-favorite Jedis and fierce Mandalorians, and yet, Yoda continues to rule the space opera franchise as one of the most beloved characters of all time. Small in size but a formidable Jedi Master, the green humanoid alien is an iconic part of George Lucas’ globally renowned epic. But as it turns out, the origin of Yoda isn’t as fabled as the character himself has come to be over the years.
Yoda Only Came into Existence to Fill A Plothole
As astonishing as it sounds, Yoda is a character that George Lucas concocted to merely fill a plot inconsistency that was caused by Obi-Wan’s death.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death in the original 1977 Star Wars film was essential for Luke Skywalker’s arc. As pointed out by the creator himself, his demise was inevitable, a necessary evil carried out for the greater good of the intergalactic franchise. Not to mention, the only probable alternative was to let Obi-Wan sit idly and do nothing while Luke continued training, and Lucas just couldn’t bring himself to subject a legendary Jedi Master like him to such a fate. So, he wrote the character off instead.
“The truth about Yoda is – in the original movie, Obi-Wan went to the very end of the film and Yoda didn’t exist; I realized that when I came to the end battle, that Obi-Wan had nothing to do but sit around and watch the battle like Princess Leia. And then, in the next film, he basically sat around and taught Luke how to use the Force and things.”
“I felt that his character had become so strong, the way Alec Guinness had presented it, that I really couldn’t do that – he was too noble. So, I had to kill him off.”
Enter Yoda, a short-in-stature but remarkably wise mentor that would fill in the cracks that Obi-Wan’s demise created.
How George Lucas Instilled Yoda in the Storyline
Portrayed by Frank Oz in the original films, the celebrated Jedi Master first appeared in Irvin Kershner’s The Empire Strikes Back as a Force Ghost who would train Luke in the absence of Obi-Wan. This is also why Qui-Gon Jinn is cited as Obi-Wan’s master, and Yoda is regarded to be the one who mentored Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan.
“When I got to the second movie, I could do certain things by having him come back as a ghost from The Force. But I couldn’t do everything; I needed a physical body there to do things, and so, I created Yoda, who was two feet tall, with green ears.”
Since Yoda was initially only fabricated to serve as a spectral replacement of sorts, Lucas thus never mapped out a detailed existence of the character, and neither did he attach any significant history or past to his species.
“To be very honest with you, I never really figured out where he came from, what his species is called […] So, he’s a mystery character. He’s a magical character. He has no background.”
That certainly explains why Yoda is such an enigma in the Star Wars lore.
The Star Wars original trilogy can be streamed on Disney+.
Source: YouTube
