Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. So, the Star Wars Episode VIII rumor of the day is here, via Indie Revolver and SWNN. They say that Frank Oz has already traveled to Pinewood to do some work on Rian Johnson's Episode VIII, specifically that he's for sure voicing Yoda once more.
Let's break this down a little bit. One, while exciting that's hardly a bombshell. Oz has already come in and lent his voice to this new trilogy, albeit in a way that a lot of people missed, in the lightsaber vision sequence in The Force Awakens.
I believe Indie Revolver's source is right that Oz went to set and if I were a betting man I'd say we do get Yoda in the film, voiced by Oz. It only makes sense. With Luke back in the fold (and presumably the focus of VIII) they have to address the force ghost thing and the best way to do that is to go with Yoda. As much as I'd love to see them pull of a photo-real Alec Guinness Force Ghost, Yoda's the best way to get the visual and vocal to match perfectly with what came before. I can't imagine how to politically approach the Anakin Force Ghost angle either (although you have to go with Sebastian Shaw, right? That's the only version of his father Luke saw with his own eyes and it's not like Obi-Wan and Yoda magically force ghosted into their 20 year old selves and I've got a nerd nosebleed now...)
So, you should take away that Yoda will likely be involved in some way and knowing Johnson's love for practical effects and his respect for the original trilogy, I'd bet if they do visualize him they'll try for a puppet (hopefully a better one than what they came up with in Phantom Menace), but that's no guarantee you'll actually SEE Yoda. You might just hear him again, speaking either to Rey or Luke via the force.
They say the set was made to be puppeteer friendly, but that doesn't mean much. Yoda's not the only puppet in this series and I wouldn't rule out new creatures popping up.
I guess we'll see in 2017!
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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