Frank Oz Returns As Yoda For 'Star Wars: Rebels'

Everyone knows who Yoda is: he's the small, green Jedi Master who once patrolled the cosmos but was then, after the rise of the Galactic Empire, relegated to a swampy backwater planet, whose relevance was returned when he helped a young Luke Skywalker return balance to the Force. And everyone knows what Yoda sounds like - the scratchy voice, the backwards syntax, the little squeaks and harrumphs, all provided by Frank Oz, a director, puppeteer and close confederate of Jim Henson. Oz provided the voice and performed Yoda in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi," and "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" (utilizing a much crummier puppet that was later replaced by computer graphics) and provided his voice for "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" and "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith." And he'll be portraying Yoda once again... for Disney XD's "Star Wars: Rebels" TV show.



TV Guide exclusively revealed that Yoda, in a disembodied form, will appear on an episode entitled "Path of the Jedi," airing on Monday, January 5^th, on Disney XD. While the series takes place in between the prequel trilogy and original trilogy, Yoda will still be dramatized as a floating voice. "I felt personally to keep Yoda as this disembodied thing it would confuse the audience less," executive producer Dave Feloni, who also directed the installment, told TV Guide. "I didn't want you to think Yoda could be teleporting from planet to planet."



Feloni also added, about working with the iconic Oz: "What's great about Frank, by keeping the voice very present and active, you do feel that it's a watchfulness and that he's speaking to you from afar. And I didn't want anyone to think that he had left Dagobah [the planet where Yoda first trains Luke Skywalker]. It was on the outer rim of what we do, but I think we were able to pull it off."



Supposedly this episode will feature more Easter Eggs that will appeal to longtime "Star Wars" aficionados. "We do a lot of work to make sure there's continuity between these things now," Feloni told TV Guide.



If you haven't watched "Star Wars: Rebels" yet, you really should - not only is it exciting and hilarious, but it's also gorgeous, utilizing many abandoned design elements from the original "Star Wars" and folding in various winks and nods to the franchise (including, much to my delight, an explicit reference to Star Tours). It's a blast.







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