Reveals Why Yoda Talks Like That, George Lucas Does

There’ve been so many questions Star Wars fans have asked over the years. And sooner or later, one of them is: “Why does Yoda talk like that?”

Since his debut in Empire Strikes Back, the old Jedi Master has spoken backwards—”How are you doing?” for anyone else is “Doing, how are you?” to him. George Lucas was asked about Yoda’s peculiar speech patterns during a recent anniversary screening for Empire, and his answer? “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen, especially 12-year-olds.”

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. “But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”

That’s a really interesting answer, and it’s certainly an effective choice; how many of us out there have a Yoda impression that gets his voice and mannerisms down? Now, if only we knew whether this manner of speaking is specific to all of Yoda’s species—whatever the hell it’s called, whose ranks currently include Yaddle (RIP) and Grogu—or how he learned to speak came from whoever raised him. And if it’s the former, there’s one other question to ask: what will Grogu sound like when he inevitably talks?

[via Variety]

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