Over the decades since Star Wars first became an international phenomenon, George Lucas has said plenty about the world that he created. Sometimes, though, Lucas can still offer us a new gem that helps explain the decisions that have made Star Wars so indelible.
Before a recent anniversary screening for The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas discussed his entire career and took his time getting to the movie he was ostensibly there to talk about. According to Variety, though, once he did get to Empire, he had something interesting to say about how decision to make Yoda talk backward.
“Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much,” Lucas said in response to a question from moderator Ben Mankiewicz. “But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”
“He was basically the philosopher of the movie,” he added. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”
Lucas’s Q&A was otherwise shockingly light on details about the film, but he did recount the lack of studio support for the original Star Wars. I said, ‘I’ll do it for $50,000, to write and direct and produce… But I do want the sequels.’ And I wanted the rights because I’m going to make those movies no matter what happens to this one,” he explained. Of course, Lucas also famously asked for the rights to all the merchandise for the films, a decision that ultimately made him one of the wealthiest moguls in Hollywood. He may not want to discuss Star Wars much, but at 80 years old, Lucas can tell us whatever he wants.