George Lucas has explained why Yoda speaks backwards in 'Star Wars.' The creator of the franchise made the revelation during a 45th anniversary screening of 'The Empire Strikes Back' at the opening night of the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival.

Yoda is one of the most cherished extraterrestrial characters in movie history, and part of that has to do with the peculiar way in which he speaks.

Lucas said altering the speech patterns of the "philosopher" of the Star Wars films was a way to "get people to actually listen, especially 12-year-olds"