Star Wars Rebels has already served up one epic original Star Wars trilogy-based cameo in the form of Darth Vader, voiced by none other than James Earl Jones. A second cameo will help bring balance to the show in a way that can be heard but not seen.
The diminutive Jedi Master Yoda didn’t spend his years on Dagobah merely toiling around in the murky swamp and building his hut. Since Star Wars Rebels is set approximately five years prior to the events of Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, Yoda has already been on Dagobah for several years already and he’s well aware that the Jedi are not quite extinct.
Yoda will soon make his Star Wars Rebels debut in a manner befitting a Jedi master; by reaching out through the Force to speak with Kanan. We won’t see Yoda in the cameo appearance but we will recognize Frank Oz as supplying the Jedi Master’s voice.
Oz originally voiced Yoda in Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as serving as the character’s puppeteer. Prequel trilogy Yoda was CGI after a retrofit, yet Oz is back to provide the voice in Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars offering.
Below is a Yoda Star Wars Rebels clip via IGN where you’ll get to hear a snippet of Oz in action. Think about the fate of Kanan and his Padawan, Ezra, while you’re watching the clip. In the original trilogy, Yoda is keenly aware and outspoken about Luke and Leia being their only hope. This either infers that Kanan and Ezra are deceased. Or, as some including myself have speculated, that Ezra turns to the Dark Side of the Force with the help of Vader and the Inquisitor, kills Kanan and the Inquisitor, and becomes the antagonist in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as a former secret apprentice of Darth Vader who went into hiding after his master’s death. The Sith do love their secret apprentices.
Yoda’s big Stars Wars Rebels is in the next episode and first after the winter hiatus, titled ‘Path of the Jedi.’ It premieres Monday, January 4 at 9pm EST on Disney XD.
