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The Star Wars franchise is undoubtedly one of the best-made creative masterpieces on screen that has gone on for almost half a century now- thanks to its timeless blend of mythological storytelling, groundbreaking visual effects, and a richly built universe that continues to evolve with each generation.
From George Lucas' original trilogy that redefined sci-fi in the late 70s to the prequels that delved into political intrigue and tragedy and the sequels that sparked global discourse, Star Wars has maintained its cultural relevance through reinvention and expansion.
The enriching details surrounding the series are nothing short of fascinating, and even years later, Lucas continues to shape his characters with interesting details and dissections. The director is now opening up on one of the biggest characters in the franchise- Yoda, and how his talking style was developed.
As fans already know, Yoda has a different dialect and language in the franchise, as he talks backwards and changes the order of the words, creating a form of anastrophe. It has been one of the defining characteristics of the humanoid alien and George Lucas is telling fans why.
Speaking at the 45th anniversary screening of The Empire Strikes Back on the opening night of the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival, Lucas was asked about Yoda's speech habits, to which he replied,
“Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much. But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying. He was basically the philosopher of the movie. I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”
What George Lucas has said about Yoda in the past
In an interview featured in Paul Duncan's The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983, George Lucas talks about how his desire to create a different language for Yoda led him to make the decision to have the alien talk backwards. The director said,
"I had to come up with a language that was alien but still understandable, so I reversed everything around."
This was done to avoid subtitles while still giving Yoda's speech a sense of otherworldliness.
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Lucas wanted Yoda’s language to feel distinct and alien, but not so confusing that the audience couldn’t follow. Reversing sentence structure achieved that balance—Yoda’s dialogue sounded strange, but you could still grasp the meaning. This decision, while tricky for Frank Oz, who iconically voiced Yoda, turned into one of the character's most remembered traits. It added to Yoda’s mysterious, wise persona and made him stand out as someone who had lived for centuries, seeing the universe in a way that no one else could.
All the films of the Star Wars franchise are available to stream on Disney+.
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