George Lucas Explains Why Yoda Talks Funny and How He Outfoxed the Studio When Making His STAR WARS Deal

During the 45th anniversary screening of The Empire Strikes Back at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival, George Lucas showed up and took the audience on a fascinating ride through his early career, the studio system, and the business moves that changed the industry.Moderator Ben Mankiewicz tried his best to keep the conversation pointed toward The Empire Strikes Back, but Lucas had other plans. Instead, he kicked things off by diving into his friendship with Francis Ford Coppola, recounting his time working on Coppola’s Finian’s Rainbow. “I was 22, Francis was 27. He had a beard, I had a beard. We both had long hair. We’re both film students,” Lucas said. “Everyone else on the crew was like 65 years old.”It wasn’t until much later in the chat that Lucas finally touched on the thing the crowd was eager to hear about: Star Wars. He explained that he’d written the original Star Wars script like a rough draft of a much bigger story. “I write like a blueprint,” Lucas said. “It’s not got a lot of detail on it. And when I got the script [for Star Wars] done, there was a 130 to 180 pages. So I cut it into three parts and said, ‘I’ll focus on the first one, because we’ll never get enough money to make the whole thing.’”Eventually, Lucas gave the audience something fun information involving the reason behind Yoda’s famously strange way of speaking. “Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much,” Lucas said. “But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”“He was basically the philosopher of the movie,” Lucas continued. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”When it came to discussing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas didn’t dwell too long on the making of the film itself. Instead, he opened up about the groundbreaking studio deal he made before the first Star Wars even hit theaters:“I said, ‘I’ll do it for $50,000, to write and direct and produce… But I do want the sequels.’ And I wanted the rights because I’m going to make those movies no matter what happens to this one.”Then came the real kicker, the part that would end up redefining Hollywood business forever. “I said, ‘besides that, I’d like licensing.’ They went, ‘What’s licensing?’” Lucas said. At the time, the studio couldn’t have cared less. “They talked to themselves, and they went, ‘He’s never going to be able to do that. It takes them a billion dollars and a year to make a toy or make anything. There’s no money in that at all.’”Realizing Fox wasn’t putting much energy into promoting Star Wars, Lucas decided to take matters into his own hands. “I got the kids walking around Disneyland and the Comic Cons and all that kind of stuff to advertise the movie,” he explained. “And that’s why Fox was so shocked when the first day the lines were all around the block.”Mankiewicz tried to wrap things up by throwing Lucas an easy question, whether he preferred Yoda or Lando Calrissian. True to form, Lucas wasn’t about to be pinned down. “If you have 12 kids, which one do you like the most?” he replied with a smirk.It wasn’t the deep-dive into The Empire Strikes Back that many in the crowd might have been hoping for, but at 80 years old, Lucas is telling his story however he likes.Source: Variety

Apr 28, 2025 - 16:41

George Lucas Explains Why Yoda Talks Funny and How He Outfoxed the Studio When Making His STAR WARS Deal

During the 45th anniversary screening of The Empire Strikes Back at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival, George Lucas showed up and took the audience on a fascinating ride through his early career, the studio system, and the business moves that changed the industry.

Moderator Ben Mankiewicz tried his best to keep the conversation pointed toward The Empire Strikes Back, but Lucas had other plans. Instead, he kicked things off by diving into his friendship with Francis Ford Coppola, recounting his time working on Coppola’s Finian’s Rainbow.

“I was 22, Francis was 27. He had a beard, I had a beard. We both had long hair. We’re both film students,” Lucas said. “Everyone else on the crew was like 65 years old.”

It wasn’t until much later in the chat that Lucas finally touched on the thing the crowd was eager to hear about: Star Wars. He explained that he’d written the original Star Wars script like a rough draft of a much bigger story.

“I write like a blueprint,” Lucas said. “It’s not got a lot of detail on it. And when I got the script [for Star Wars] done, there was a 130 to 180 pages. So I cut it into three parts and said, ‘I’ll focus on the first one, because we’ll never get enough money to make the whole thing.’”

Eventually, Lucas gave the audience something fun information involving the reason behind Yoda’s famously strange way of speaking.

“Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much,” Lucas said. “But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”

“He was basically the philosopher of the movie,” Lucas continued. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”

When it came to discussing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas didn’t dwell too long on the making of the film itself. Instead, he opened up about the groundbreaking studio deal he made before the first Star Wars even hit theaters:

“I said, ‘I’ll do it for $50,000, to write and direct and produce… But I do want the sequels.’ And I wanted the rights because I’m going to make those movies no matter what happens to this one.”

Then came the real kicker, the part that would end up redefining Hollywood business forever. “I said, ‘besides that, I’d like licensing.’ They went, ‘What’s licensing?’” Lucas said. At the time, the studio couldn’t have cared less. “They talked to themselves, and they went, ‘He’s never going to be able to do that. It takes them a billion dollars and a year to make a toy or make anything. There’s no money in that at all.’”

Realizing Fox wasn’t putting much energy into promoting Star Wars, Lucas decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I got the kids walking around Disneyland and the Comic Cons and all that kind of stuff to advertise the movie,” he explained. “And that’s why Fox was so shocked when the first day the lines were all around the block.”

Mankiewicz tried to wrap things up by throwing Lucas an easy question, whether he preferred Yoda or Lando Calrissian. True to form, Lucas wasn’t about to be pinned down. “If you have 12 kids, which one do you like the most?” he replied with a smirk.

It wasn’t the deep-dive into The Empire Strikes Back that many in the crowd might have been hoping for, but at 80 years old, Lucas is telling his story however he likes.

Source: Variety