Even though we’re still a ways away from seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens (it’s less than two months!), we do know that it brings back a number of familiar faces from the original trilogy. We’ll see Luke and Han and Leia, the droids, and Chewbacca, among others. According to a new rumor making the rounds, one more classic character could show up for the party.
Heads up, there are potential SPOILERS beyond this point, not to mention that this is a RUMOR, a completely unsubstantiated one, so make sure to take it with a big grain of salt.
That said, onward brave souls.
According to Star Wars News Net, they recently heard from one of their sources that a certain diminutive Jedi master will make an appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Yes, they say that Yoda has a scene in J.J. Abrams upcoming space adventure. They seem to trust their source, who they claim is a non-U.S. resident who is involved in the audio dubbing of the film.
Whether or not this turns out to be true, it certainly seems possible for a number of reasons. Sure, Yoda dies in Return of the Jedi, but he also pops up later on in the movie as a Force Ghost alongside Obi-Wan and Anakin. Though it appears, from the latest trailer, that the Force and the Jedi have largely been forgotten and relegated to hushed historical whispers, we know Luke shows up at some point (even if he’s absent in the trailers), and it’s plausible Yoda could show his face once again and offer some sage advice.
The elderly Jedi also showed up recently in an episode of Star Wars Rebels, voiced, as always by the venerable Frank Oz, who has said that he’s game to do it again, should the need arise.
If this rumor is true (again, huge emphasis on if), this could have big implications for The Force Awakens. We don’t know exactly what Luke’s role is—there have been speculation that he’s evil, even that he’s Kylo Ren, but we’ll have to wait to see more on that front—but we do know that he has become hugely powerful, despite the fact that he had a relatively truncated training period. Perhaps over the last 30 years, he and Yoda (maybe even Obi-Wan and Anakin) have been in communication and maybe even continued Luke’s education in the ways of the Force.
This is all speculation at this point, and like most things about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it leaves us with more questions than anything else. As J.J. Abrams has said we won’t get any more trailers (though TV spots will reportedly happen), we likely won’t know much more than we already do before the film opens on December 18.
