Star Wars: Frank Oz Recalls the Birth of Yoda's Unique Speaking Style

If Yoda's on-screen presence and involvement in the overall trajectory of the Skywalker Saga [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

If Yoda's on-screen presence and involvement in the overall trajectory of the Skywalker Saga wasn't enough to earn him a passionate following, his unique manner of speaking has left a major impact on all of pop culture, with actor Frank Oz recently remembering how the cadence was born on the set of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The actor pointed out how Yoda wasn't always designed to have such specific phrasing, but that Oz made note of how he saw the character's cadence and that a brief collaboration with series creator George Lucas helped create the memorable speech patterns.

"It's funny you ask about that because 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," Oz shared with The Guardian when discussing the Jedi Master. "So I said to George, 'Can I do the whole thing like this?' And he said: 'Sure!' It just felt so right."

Following his time in the original trilogy, Oz returned to the series not only for the prequel trilogy, but also an appearance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Of all of the members of that sequel trilogy, Oz has arguably been the most outspoken when it comes to showing love for the dividing entry into the galaxy far, far away.

As The Last Jedi trolls are known to do, one specific fan attacked writer/director Rian Johnson this past November, resulting in Oz chiming in on the conversation, "It's sad to me that you've harbored this internal darkness for so long about a movie. Rian is a great director, writer, & human being. Please try to understand that writers & directors are not there to fulfill the audience's expectations. Good work breaks expectations."

In a previous conversation, Oz noted how people not liking the film was "horse crap."

"I love [The Last Jedi]," Oz shared during a panel at South by Southwest back in 2019. "All the people who don't like this Jedi thing is just horse crap. It's about expectations. The movie didn't fill their expectations. But as filmmakers, we're not here to fulfill people's expectations."

Following the debut of "Baby Yoda," a.k.a. Grogu, back in 2019, it's unknown if fans will ever get the chance to see Yoda in a new project.

What do you think of Oz's remarks? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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