The Blue Strikes Back As More Sources Reveal Yoda's Original Color
Image Source: CultureSlate
Little is known about the origin of the Yoda species in Star Wars canon, but it has been confirmed that the little green guy was originally going to be blue in The Empire Strikes Back. According to The Guardian, Luke Skywalker was going to run into a little blue alien on Dagobah instead of the distinctly green one everyone knows, thanks to characters like Yoda, Yaddle, and Grogu. The original screenplay for Empire described Yoda as, “Mysteriously standing right in front of Luke is a strange, bluish creature, not more than two feet tall. The wizened little thing is dressed in rags.” Yoda is one of those characters who has had a lasting impact on fiction and is instantly recognizable to people who may not have watched Star Wars, so it’s hard to believe there was a time when his design and appearance weren’t set in stone. This was the case with many aspects of the original trilogy, which went through several changes. Luke Skywalker’s name was originally going to be Luke Starkiller, and there were plans for Obi-Wan Kenobi to return from the dead in the finale of Return of the Jedi.
The proof of Yoda’s initial blue design existed early in the creative process, as evidenced in concept art from 1978, where he is depicted as either blue or pink. Two versions of the novelization also describe Yoda as “blue-skinned,” and a Marvel Comics adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back depicted Yoda as almost purple. This was changed later on, but no one from the creative team knows exactly who decided the changes. Star Wars' makeup and creative effects designer, Nick Maley, revealed that the decision to make Yoda green had been made before he joined the creative team in 1979, and believes it was a better choice, as “the green alien is a classic in people’s minds.” Maley “never questioned the fact that he was green”, and reveals “we actually put dyes into the foam latex so that we didn’t have to paint it too much. That was green.
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Image Source: Space.com
Even though Yoda is green, Star Wars is full of species with blue skin, including the Chiss, Pantorans, and Twi’leks. Famous characters, including Grand Admiral Thrawn, Riyo Chuchi, Aayla Secura, Max Rebo, Mas Amedda, and Cad Bane, have blue skin. After Yoda, the most popular green-skinned character is Grogu, but if Yoda’s skin color hadn’t been changed to green, Grogu would likely have blue skin as well, as all the members of the Yoda species seem to have similar traits, including green skin.
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Sources: The Guardian, Culture Slate, Space.com
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