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No disrespect to Tom Kane, the voice actor who has primarily filled in as the voice of Yoda for years in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and several other animated projects and video games, but when you can get Frank Oz (the original Yoda) to voice the character, you take advantage of that.
As you can hear in the above video clip, that’s exactly what the producers of Star Wars: Rebels have done, though it’s a little disappointing to hear the voice without seeing the squat green Jedi Master on the screen. According to IGN, though, Yoda’s physical absence is easily explained and in keeping with the canon.
Rebels takes place a few years before the original Star Wars film, A New Hope, while Yoda is in exile on Dagobah. As this clip shows, the Jedi Master does not leave that planet during his appearance on Rebels, but rather reaches out through the Force to contact Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.).
When the news of Frank Oz’ return broke, Rebels producer Dave Filoni spoke to TV Guide about the decision to only use Yoda as a disembodied voice, further clarifying things.
“I felt personally to keep Yoda as this disembodied thing it would confuse the audience less,” says executive producer Dave Filoni, who also directed the installment. “I didn’t want you to think Yoda could be teleporting from planet to planet.”
The voice of Yoda can be heard in full on Star Wars: Rebels Monday, January 5th at 9:00 p.m. Even if you’re not a fan of the show, it might be worth a watch just to hear Oz play the character one more time since nobody knows if we’re ever going to get the chance to hear him in this new batch of Star Wars films.