20 Little Known Star Wars Facts
14. Learn from a Monkey, You Will
As hard as it may be to believe, filmmakers originally intended to have the Jedi master played by a monkey.
In his 2010 book “The Making of ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,'” author J.W. Rinzler revealed the bizarre plan for a monkey in a mask to portray Yoda in the iconic sequel.
The monkey was even brought to the set and had been trained to walk using Yoda’s cane. Before you judge Lucas for his decision, however, consider the fact that “The Empire Strikes Back” was being made in the late ’70s and early ’80s when audioanimatronic technology wasn’t thought to be advanced enough to do everything filmmakers wanted Yoda to do.
While the monkey idea seemed promising, a few members of the crew had previously worked with the same primate on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and they were sure that the monkey would keep ripping off the mask during filming.
Plans were quickly scrapped, and Lucas contacted “Muppets” creator Jim Henson to bring the first audioanimatronic puppet to life. Oz worked his puppeteering magic in tandem with Yoda’s robotic parts to create the onscreen character that would eventually become a “Star Wars” icon.
