Star Wars: Yoda Will Be CGI If Lucasfilm Makes Spin-Off Film

One of the most exciting moments for fans in The Last Jedi was an appearance by Yoda, who managed to talk some sense into Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To. The character was last seen in the prequel films, which used CGI to bring the character to life, while The Last Jedi tapped Frank Oz to animate the practical puppet. Rumors have circulated that Yoda could get an entire film devoted to his adventures which, if true, Oz claims will require vast amounts of computer effects and wouldn’t require a practical puppet.

“You know what, I keep hearing that and I know nothing about it,” Oz told IGN about the possibility of a spin-off film. “Believe me. That’s way too difficult for me. I rehearse a long time just to do one line of dialogue [as a puppeteer].”

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the studio announced it would move forward with not just new episodic films in the Skywalker Saga, but also standalone spinoffs, with Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story being the first two that have been made. There’s still the possibility of Yoda getting his own feature film, but the process would be too time-consuming for a puppeteer.

“It would have to be [CGI], yeah. It would have to be,” Oz confessed. “It’s far, far too difficult because I’m doing it with three other people. So it’s four people and you can’t just wing it. You’ve got to study every single word with four people.”

The performer lent his vocal abilities to Yoda in the prequel films, but with the character demonstrating his combat abilities in that trilogy, using an actual puppet was completely out of the question. Given his brief appearance in The Last Jedi and minimal movement, writer/director Rian Johnson wanted to bring a more tangible quality of the character back to the big screen, utilizing the original methods of Yoda’s portrayal.

Not only did practical filmmaking methods play a part in reviving Yoda, but Oz had to tap into the history he created for the character.

“Yoda was fully formed as a written character and he was fully formed as a designed character, but the internal part of him was not created,” Oz pointed out. “He was a wise person, and a powerful person, but that’s kind of all that was given to me. So I had to create a whole backstory for him inside me to make him come alive and be transcendent.”

You can see Oz’s performance as Yoda in The Last Jedi on Digital HD now and on Blu-ray on March 27th.

Would you see a Yoda spin-off film with the character completely CGI? Let us know in the comments!

[H/T IGN]