George Lucas Had Second Thoughts About Introducing Yoda into Star Wars

It might be hard to imagine a galaxy far, far away without Yoda, however, it seems like Star Wars creator George Lucas actually had second thoughts introducing the character in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Lucas just recently spoke in an interview with StarWars.com to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, and during the discussion, the Star Wars creator revealed how he was unsure of having Yoda in the film.

The director had doubts about Yoda's appearance, not because he didn't like the character or know the Jedi master's value, but because there were too many different elements in The Empire Strikes Back that he had no idea what to expect when he started filming with a puppet character.

"I didn't really understand it until the first day of shooting, and seeing the dailies and seeing it in action and under the right lighting conditions. A lot of those things, like Yoda, got finished like an hour before we shot it. Everything was always on the run," the filmmaker revealed, "So I finally got to see the whole thing finished, put together, lit properly, and that's when I knew it was going to work. Before that I had to rely on Frank Oz. Frank had performed great in rehearsals and Stuart Freeborn was working very diligently on trying to get the puppet to work, but it didn't convince me until I saw the actual movie."

It was pretty difficult for Lucas. There was a lot riding on The Empire Strikes Back after the success of Star Wars: A New Hope. Because of that pressure, Lucas wasn't sure whether his audience would be capable of taking a huge leap of faith with a brand new element in the film – a puppet character like Yoda.

Fortunately, Yoda was a success, and now the character is one of the most beloved characters of the franchise.

The Skywalker saga is available for streaming on Disney+.

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