Osha from The Acolyte (2024) next to Yoda as seen in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005)A director from The Acolyte has outlined how it felt to bring Yoda to life during the show’s production. The Acolyte‘s season 1 ending was incredibly exciting for many reasons, primarily due to two major cameos. Not only did The Acolyte reveal Darth Plagueis as a Sith master, but it ended with a shot of Yoda as Vernestra Rwoh sought out the Jedi Grandmaster’s advice. The Acolyte‘s Yoda cameo was incredibly exciting for fans watching the show, with that same sense of excitement extending to the show’s creators as well.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, the director of The Acolyte episodes 6 and 8 – Hanelle Culpepper – outlined what it was like to include everyone’s favorite green alien. As the director of the finale, Culpepper had the pleasure of crafting some fantastic action sequences, standout emotional moments, and the two aforementioned cameos. When asked about the ins and outs of directing an episode including Yoda including links to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Culpepper had this to say:

“I’m not sure which puppet they used for The Last Jedi … I can tell you that I was like a kid when I learned that I had the opportunity to work with Yoda. The day that we shot that, it was quite magical, I’ll say, because you see Yoda… But then, a puppeteer literally brings Yoda to life, literally , and so it’s kind of a mind thing when you know you’re looking at a puppet, but you’re like, “No, he is real now!” And I remember Leslye [Headland] and I were just giddy… It was very cool…”

Yoda Embodies The True Magic Of Star Wars

More So Than Any Other Character, Yoda Conveys The Light Of The Jedi

Yoda with clone troopers behind him during Order 66
 Yoda looking up on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda in The Phantom Menace looking curious Yoda looking back in Attack of the Clones with a serious expression Yoda wielding a green lightsaber in Attack of the Clones
Yoda with clone troopers behind him during Order 66 Yoda looking up on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda in The Phantom Menace looking curious Yoda looking back in Attack of the Clones with a serious expression Yoda wielding a green lightsaber in Attack of the Clones

As evident from Culpepper’s comments, Yoda is truly one of the magical heartbeats of the Star Wars franchise. The sheer enthusiasm Culpepper and The Acolyte‘s showrunner Leslye Headland had to work with the Yoda puppet is proof of this. Throughout Star Wars, Yoda has often been showcased as a quintessential Jedi, prevalent in almost every installment of the Skywalker Saga. This proves how magical of a character he is, with this even tying into the decision to include his cameo as The Acolyte‘s final shot.

Culpepper confirmed this to Screen Rant. Although some sections of the Star Wars fanbase thought the Plagueis cameo should have been The Acolyte‘s final shot, Culpepper reiterated that her excitement over Yoda’s inclusion was the reason the latter closed out season 1: “I knew that if I was jumping out of my skin with excitement about the fact that we were doing this, then I was just like… this is just the perfect ending for this episode.” Above all else, this childlike joy at Yoda’s involvement in The Acolyte proves that he typifies the magic of a galaxy far, far away.