George Lucas shared the reasoning behind Yoda’s distinctive speech pattern during a 45th anniversary screening of The Empire Strikes Back at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Speaking during a conversation moderated by Ben Mankiewicz, Lucas said the character’s unique way of speaking was designed to hold the audience’s attention.
“Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much,” Lucas explained. “But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.” Lucas emphasized that Yoda’s role in the story required extra care. “He was basically the philosopher of the movie,” he said. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”
During the discussion, Mankiewicz attempted to ask several questions about the 1980 film’s production, including the origins of carbon freezing and the logistics behind the dinner scene with Darth Vader. Lucas, however, steered the conversation toward his early career experiences, including his collaborations with Francis Ford Coppola and the challenges he faced launching Star Wars.
Lucas recounted that his original Star Wars script was so extensive that he divided it into three parts, focusing initially on one film because he believed financing a larger project would be impossible. “I write like a blueprint,” Lucas said. “When I got the script done, there was a 130 to 180 pages. So I cut it into three parts and said, ‘I’ll focus on the first one, because we’ll never get enough money to make the whole thing.'”
He also discussed how he secured sequel and merchandising rights from 20th Century Fox. “I said, ‘I’ll do it for $50,000, to write and direct and produce… But I do want the sequels,'” Lucas recalled. “Besides that, I’d like licensing.” Studio executives, skeptical about the potential for merchandising revenue, agreed to the deal, a decision that would later have major consequences for the industry.
Lucas spoke about his efforts to promote Star Wars through unconventional means, including early fan engagement at Disneyland and comic conventions. “I got the kids walking around Disneyland and the Comic Cons and all that kind of stuff to advertise the movie,” he said. “And that’s why Fox was so shocked when the first day the lines were all around the block.”
When asked whether he preferred Yoda or Lando Calrissian among the new characters introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas declined to choose. “If you have 12 kids, which one do you like the most?” he said.