Before Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrived in theaters, practically every character who had ever appeared in the franchise before was linked to the sequel. Obviously, there were certain key players who we knew were destined to appear – Han Solo, Leia, and let’s not forget Chewie – but many other fan favorites were simply rumored.
One of those was the pint-sized Jedi Yoda. Well, he was kind of ‘in the movie’ wasn’t he? During Rey’s flashback/hallucination she hears his voice, but that was about it.
Hold onto your butts Force fans because apparently Yoda might appear in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII. The news hails from a typically-reliable place Making StarWars.net, who claims to have received intel from “various sources” confirming that this is highly likely. Why? Because Frank Oz – the man who operated the Yoda puppet and provided his voice – is at Pinewood Studios, where production is currently underway.
Now, he could simply be stopping by to say hello to the cast and crew. However, the site goes on to reveal that he’s in the UK for work, not to hang out and drink cups of tea.
Before we get too excited, it’s possible that Oz is on hand to provide assistance with another puppet on set, or to deliver more Yoda dialogue. He did the same on The Force Awakens, laying down some vocals to be used during Rey’s vision, that J.J. Abrams ultimately scrapped. Either way, seeing as how Yoda died a while back in the films’ continuity, the only way he could appear is in ghost form.
Star Wars: Episode VIII opens on December 17, 2017.