Yoda is the most mysterious figure in Star Wars. Despite there being origins and backstories and encyclopedic-level information about every other species in the faraway galaxy, the centuries-old Jedi Master is one big puzzle wrapped in an even bigger enigma.
No one knows what species he is, or where he’s from, and there are only two others like him: Yaddle and Grogu (or Baby Yoda, if you will — although there’s no relation there).
Since its inception with Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope in 1977, the franchise has grown exponentially. Countless new characters and planets and alien species have been added to the lore, and there are dozens, if not, hundreds, of books and online sources that offer plenty of additional information behind all of it. It’s certainly no stretch to say that Star Wars canon is about as big, or as never-ending, as the faraway galaxy itself.
Despite us now being 12 films, several animated and live-action shows, and countless comic books and novels and video games deep into the Star Wars franchise, we still don’t know a single thing about Yoda’s origins. Or Yaddle. Or Grogu. Other than the fact that they’re Jedi, they live for hundreds of years, and have green skin.
But now, some new information about Yoda has come to light.
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It turns out that our “little green friend”, as Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) calls him in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005), wasn’t actually green to begin with.
Yoda is also one of the most iconic characters in the franchise, largely down to his irregular syntax, words of wisdom (which are usually back to front), and his overall look: his small size, pointed elf-like ears, and his green skin. That’s why Grogu was first dubbed “Baby Yoda” by fans online — he really is just a pint-sized version of the wise Jedi Master.
But now, The Guardian has reported that Yoda was originally supposed to be blue, according to archival sources and eyewitness testimony.
A novelization of A New Hope describes Yoda as being “blue-skinned”, while the screenplay for the second film in George Lucas’ original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), says of the scene in which Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) first meet Yoda (Frank Oz) on Dagobah: “Mysteriously standing right in front of Luke is a strange, bluish creature, not more than two feet tall.”
However, special makeup and creature effects designer Nick Maley, who worked on the film series from 1979 ahead of the release of The Empire Strikes Back, claims that the decision to make Yoda green had already been made before his involvement.
“By the time I got to work on him, he was green,” he explains. “I have a memory of a particular drawing. I seem to remember him being green in that drawing, and that would be before we’d ever started trying to try to make him.”
Star Wars comic books based on The Empire Strikes Back offer more visual evidence, depicting him as purple and with white hair.
When asked about the colour change in the 1980s comics, Maley explains that tie-in media is often made independently of film production, and likely uses outdated source material. As for why Yoda went from bluish and purple to green remains a mystery, however, Maley attributes it to the classic image of Martians (AKA “little green men”).
“I mean, I assumed everybody kind of tended to think: ‘Oh, Martians are little green characters.’ Right?” he says. “So, you know, the green alien is a classic in people’s minds.”
Do you think Yoda would have become as iconic if he was blue instead of green? Share your thoughts with us below!
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