Yoda Has Become One of the Many Instantly Recognizable Characters of the Franchise A franchise is often built on strong iconography and its ability to burn itself into the minds of viewers.

Lucas wanted you to pay attention to what Yoda was saying. Of course, he also wanted you to see Han Solo step on Jabba the Hutt's tail and Jar Jar Binks, so his wants are a mixed bag.

He went on to explain that since Yoda is a philosopher for Luke, the way he spoke had to feel significant. “If you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much,” he continued.

George Lucas appeared at the TCM Classic Film Festival at a screening of 'The Empire Strikes Back,' revealing why Yoda talked backwards.

That led to Yoda, a puppet designed by Stuart Freeborn and Wendy Froud and brought to life by Frank Oz of The Muppets. “I was very apprehensive about how that [Yoda puppet] was going to work ...

On the one hand, Yoda's belief that a path can be walked in both directions is quite admirable. He believed Rell could be helped and that in turn, Rell could help the Jedi defeat the Nameless ...

Along with explaining why he made Yoda speak backwards, Lucas recounted some of the details about how he got "Star Wars" made, including how he got around the doubts of the studio.

George Lucas attends the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival opening night screening of 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 24, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Emma ...