George Lucas saved Yoda from Disney doing something stupid

Pa Chris Snellgrove
| Published 19 seconds ago

By the way, George Lucas is one of the most controversial figures in Star Wars history: some fans worship him for creating this galaxy far, far away, while others claim he went off the rails after the end of the Original Trilogy. However, love him or hate him, he made one very important plot decision that managed to carry over into the final era of this franchise. In particular, George Lucas actively discouraged other creators from exploring Yoda’s origins, a decision that carried over into various Disney films and shows.

Origin of Yoda

Interestingly, George Lucas’ decision to keep Yoda mysterious is a decision he’s made a lot decades before Disney acquired Star Wars. While the man seemed to plan countless aspects of this franchise long before filming, he made an exception for the second Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker. Dating up to The Empire strikes backLucas refused to tell the real backstory Yodainsisting that it was important for him to be “mysterious” and act as the “magical character” of the franchise.

When production began on the prequel trilogy, George Lucas apparently relaxed about Yoda, but still retained some restrictions that Disney apparently, it remains to this day (more on that soon). For example, he introduced Yadl as a fellow Jedi Master of Yoda’s lineage with whom he regularly works, and he allowed other writers to create their own Yoda-like creatures. However, we never got Yoda’s exact origin story, and it wasn’t until recently that we learned the fate of Fir Tree. Namely, that she was killed by Count Dooku as part of his bloody initiation into the Sith.

It’s clear that preserving Yoda’s backstory was important to George Lucas when he was in control of the franchise, but what’s interesting is how little Disney has done with the character since acquiring the Star Wars rights. Strictly speaking, House of Mouse can do whatever it wants with any of the characters, but there was no attempt to explain Yoda’s backstory or explain his appearance. The last part is especially interesting when you consider this Mandalorian prominently features Grog, a member of Yoda’s lineage, who serves as Dean Jarrin’s foster child.

George Lucas’ Yoda’s Law survives

The only real explanation for this is that George Lucas’ old Yoda rules still apply, at least in the eyes of modern Disney creators like Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. That’s probably why Mandalorian did not delve into Grog’s connection to Yoda, despite fans asking that this connection might be there since the first episode. Interestingly, Lucas actually visited the set early to help Favreau celebrate his birthday, a visit that fueled persistent rumors that the new Baby Yoda character had the Star Wars creator’s full blessing.

In short, George Lucas is the only reason Disney+ doesn’t have terrible Yoda origin stories. He designed a talking-back Jedi Master to become the biggest mystery of the franchise, and once went so far as to destroy all copies of a trading card that gave knowledge of Yoda’s appearance (it showed Yoda-like beings worshiping something that looked a lot like Yogurt with Space balls). Now, even though Disney owns the franchise, they continue to follow the Creator’s wishes, and given how mediocre Boba Fett book in the end, we’re eternally grateful that Lucas spared us another bad solo streak.