Talks about the rumored standalone films in the ‘Star Wars’ universe heated up when Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed them and confirmed that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg were working on them. Though the official word is that everything is still in the early stages right now, word going around is that the two films could spotlight fan favorite characters Han Solo, Boba Fett, or Yoda. If Disney does try to pursue a film about the pint-sized Jedi master, there’s someone who’d be very open to joining the project.
According to Hero Complex, Frank Oz, the puppeteer extraordinaire and filmmaker who has voiced the teacher of Luke Skywalker for five out of six films, is open to returning to voice the character in a standalone film. Though the Muppet originator passed off Master Yoda to Tom Kane for the ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ animated series, Oz is very interested in returning to the role. Most recently, he reprised the role for the Disney theme park attraction ‘Star Tours: The Adventures Continue’, so signs say that he’s craving more Yoda just as much as legions of ‘Star Wars’ fans are.
However, it’s not likely that Oz will return to the puppet version of the character. In the interview, he had this to say about the CGI rendering of the character:
“I think it depends on the story, but I think at this point you can’t go back to the puppet. The reason George [Lucas] did the CGI, which I supported, was that he wanted to tell a story that would have been hampered by the physical limitations of the puppet.”
Puppet or not, it would be great to see Frank Oz to return to another character that he originated for another adventure on the silver screen, be it in a standalone film or as some ghostly figure or a flashback to guide a new padawan in J.J. Abrams’ ‘Episode VII’.
How would you like to see him come back to the ‘Star Wars’ universe to provide the voice to Yoda? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
