Know now do we why speaks that way does Yoda.
“Star Wars” creator George Lucas is peeling back the curtain on why Yoda speaks backwards in the film franchise.
“Yoda had a very distinctive way of talking, and it was done purposely because if you were speaking regular English, people don’t listen that much, but if he has an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying,” he told Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz last week during a screening of “The Empire Strikes Back” at the TCM Classic Film Festival.
“He was basically the philosopher of the movie, so he was talking about all of the things in long talking scenes and stuff where I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen, especially 12-year-olds.”
Yoda is known for his wisdom, with such lines as “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try,” “The greatest teacher, failure is” and “Much to learn, you still have.”
Yoda’s first appearance in the “Star Wars” franchise came in 1980 in “The Empire Strikes Back.” The character was voiced by Frank Oz, who also provided it for “Return of the Jedi,” the prequel trilogy and “The Last Jedi.” He and other actors have also voiced Yoda in various related “Star Wars” projects over the years.
Oz said he came up with Yoda’s unusual speaking style before getting Lucas’ blessing to do it.
“I was just looking at the original script of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ the other day and there was a bit of that odd syntax in it, but also it had Yoda speaking very colloquially,” he told The Guardian in 2021. “So I said to George (Lucas): ‘Can I do the whole thing like this?’ And he said: ‘Sure!’ It just felt so right.”
Oz also said he doesn’t get tired of people doing impressions of Yoda, either.
“No I’m used to it. But people don’t understand, anyone can do a voice. It’s not the voice — it’s the soul,” he said.
A new “Star Wars” film is due out in 2027. Earlier this month, the movie’s director, Shawn Levy, revealed that Ryan Gosling will star in it.
