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| Not able to raise the X-wing fighter from the swamp water, Luke fails to grasp the natural power of the Force. |
With the characters continual evolution, Lucas thinks
that the new Jedi Master, whom he describes as a
“withered old space creature,” should be the perfect
incarnation of the Force, but, at the same, has to reflect
the idea that depth of spirituality goes beyond physical
appearance and the limitations of the body. As George Lucas explained in an interview from 1981: “I wanted for him to be the kind of character
you can find in fairy tales and mythology. A character
that is usually a frog or a needy old man. In his path the
hero sees this poor, insignificant person. The
lesson the hero must learn is that he had to
respect everybody beyond their physical
appearance, since there may be the key to his
success.” From the beginning, Lucas knows that
the character will be a strange alien, following
the oriental philosophy of a Zen master,
someone who was very old and emitted wisdom
and intelligence, whilst at the same time
displaying a satisfied mind. He would be first
described as “a weird creature with a froggish
look, half a meter tall.” The unusual way in
which the Jedi Master first introduces himself to
Luke might have been thought to damage the
credibility of such a wise character. This too had
been carefully thought out, however. “I wanted
the public to see him as a funny creature, not as
the most powerful of all the Jedi,” says Lucas,
“I was looking for the opposite of anyone you
would expect, since the Jedi based their beliefs
in a philosophical idea, instead of a physical
concept.”
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| Full presentation of the classic Yoda shot used in the film's after-release marketing campaign- the character's visual look having been kept as secret as possible in the prior run-up. |
Oz additionally recalled to
Star Wars Insider magazine issue 42: “I have always likened Yoda to a powerful
figure like Winston Churchill who might be having to
make great decisions about the war, and yet while he's
doing it, he's wondering if he should take that last candy
in the dish or not, because he wants it really bad. It's
that paradox. I think it makes him more human.”
Discussing Yoda’s language, Lawrence Kasdan recalled
to
The Annotated Screenplays: “I remember
that George had a feeling about the kind of speech he
wanted Yoda to have. It had to do with inversion and
with a kind of medieval feeling with religious
overtones. Once we figured that out, it became very
logical to have Yoda say things like 'Good it will be...'
Inverting everything did the trick.”
