Did You Know a Monkey Was Almost Cast as Master Yoda?

Jedi Master Yoda is one of the most famous and beloved characters in fiction. He became a standout character in Star Wars when he first appeared, and his actions in the Prequel Trilogy solidified his status as one of the greatest characters of all time.

Yoda made his debut in 1980 in The Empire Strikes Back, the second film in Lucas’s Original Trilogy. He served as a mentor to Luke Skywalker after Ben Kenobi’s death. While it was clear he was powerful, the Prequel Trilogy finally revealed just how strong Yoda truly was.

Initially, Yoda was portrayed using a puppet, and even though modern versions use CGI, Frank Oz’s iconic 1980 puppet remains a key part of the original films. Many fans can’t imagine Yoda as anything else. However, did you know that Yoda could have looked completely different?

Several concepts were proposed before the production chose the puppet. This report will explore that story.

As mentioned, Master Yoda is one of the most iconic fictional characters ever and certainly one of the most beloved in Star Wars. He was introduced as a wise, powerful, and very old Jedi Master during The Empire Strikes Back, and it was later revealed that he was the most powerful Jedi of the Republic and one of the greatest Force users in history.

Yoda’s race remains a mystery—fans are hopeful that The Mandalorian might provide some answers. While we’ve seen other members of his species, we don’t know their name or anything significant about them.

They all appear as small, green-skinned beings with pointy ears and three fingers on each hand. It’s unclear if they have a unique connection to the Force, but all known members of Yoda’s race are strong Force users.

While the Yoda we know and love is now a part of cinematic history, creating his look was a complex process. Joe Johnston, the film’s visual effects art director, created hundreds of sketches of Yoda. He later remarked in Rinzler’s The Making of The Empire Strikes Back that the design Lucas chose resembled a mix of a leprechaun, a troll, and a gnome. Quite intriguing!

Regarding his portrayal, Lucas chose Yoda’s unique speech pattern to make the character stand out, which paired nicely with the iconic puppet. However, before settling on the puppet, there were some rather wild ideas for how to bring him to life.

One proposal was to cast a child or a dwarf to play Yoda in a costume, but this was ultimately dropped. Interestingly, actor Deep Roy wore the Yoda costume for several wide shots showing Yoda in motion.

Another idea involved using stop-motion animation, which could have been intriguing, but the most outrageous concept was to use a monkey! Yes, someone suggested putting a trained monkey in the costume, giving it a cane, and having it walk around. Thankfully, they opted for the puppet instead, right?

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