I don’t remember it being a surprise to me (I was 15 when I saw it, in 1980). I probably saw it for the first time a week or so after the premiere, and I definitely recall lots of pictures of Yoda in the newspapers and magazines (including the cover of People) – though I can’t tell you now how many of those pictures and stories came out before or after the premiere. He might well have been in the trailers / previews, as well.
Luke and Yoda both use the force subconciously, its really not a surprise they would guide/find each other.
I feel like an idiot. I was 18 when I saw it and surprised, but in my own defense I saw it the day it opened and had been very careful to avoid spoilers. I think I twigged shortly before the reveal and had myself a “duh” moment. Within a couple days of its release it would have been very difficult not to have known every plot twist and half the dialogue since I mostly hung out with serious geeks.
I think it would have been more concious on Yoda’s part though. He brought Luke to him.
I remember seeing the reviews With Siskell and Ebert showing the scene where Luke meets Yoda. There was also, as said before, plenty of merchandise and marketing material out there already. The little green muppet turning out to be Yoda was no surprise to me by the time I saw the movie.
True, but Luke probably didn’t realize that he was doing so, so he can probably be excused for not realizing he’d land so close.
I was 10 and didn’t realize it was Yoda at first - but considering he was the only one anywhere to be found, it added up pretty quick.
That being said, looking back on it now, the star of TESB was without a doubt, Han Solo. He should’ve been on the cover of People magazine. “I love you!” “I know.” should be right up there in great cinema quotes with “frankly Scarlett, I don’t give a damn.”
I specifically remember being scooped by the People magazine cover and being upset that it happened. (I was 10). The good news is that it informed my avoidance of spoilers from that point forward.
I was an adult when it came out. It wasn’t a big stretch of the imagination to figure out if the crazy old hermit in the first movie turned out to be the mighty Obi Wan Kenobi, that the crazy old Muppet was also going to turn out to be someone important.
I was a total Star Wars geek when ESB came out, and read every magazine and newspaper article I could find about it prior to its release. I seem to recall that a lot of the press focused on Frank Oz’s involvement as the character’s puppeteer and voice, which generated some extra buzz for the movie. The character would have been instantly recognized by an audience raised on Sesame Street as soon as they heard Grover’s voice come out of its mouth.
I read the novelization and spoiled the whole thing before opening day though, so I’m sure I wasn’t surprised at all.
He doesn’t know. C-3PO and R2-D2 both had their memories wiped by Uncle Owen in the beginning of A New Hope.
Did you know that Harrison Ford actually came up with that himself? He thought it was more in character than whatever line he was actually supposed to say.
C3PO and R2 didn’t get their memories wiped, they were scheduled to but before Luke could get around to it R2 took off. If they were wiped how did R2 find Obiwan then?
Harrison Ford supposedly came up with a lot of characterization and dialogue for Han Solo, I think HS is a BIG part of why the original triology is so good. Han is so human and real compared to the characters Luca’s writes.
I believe Pitchmeister was referring to the end of “Revenge of the Sith,” although it was only C3PO that has his memory wiped, not R2D2. That always bugged me because it was clearly done only to explain why C3PO didn’t know certain things in the original trilogy, but there didn’t really seem to be any in-universe reason for it to be done.
Dude… I was just about to watch that this weekend. I never watched New Hope or forward, I heard they were sequels and I wanted to wait for the originals to come out first, but then I had to keep delaying as I wanted to see them re-released in Blu-Ray. I was just about to catch up and BAM! now I know who Yoda is. Whole deal ruined.
I was born in January of 1966, and since I don’t remember the year TESB came out, you have to do the math as to how old I was. I didn’t get it at first, but I got it long before Luke did. Yeah, at first he was random and funny and cute, then annoying, but you got the idea pretty fast that there was more going on. Even at that age, I figured they wouldn’t be spending that much screen time on a random encounter, and it was clear to me that the force didn’t rely on physical size to make you powerful, so it eventually added up.
I thought it was very well-done. Going into it spoiler-free, you probably wouldn’t know right away it was Yoda, but the length and oddness of the encounter made it dawn on you shortly before the big reveal. It gave you the time to realize it before Luke does. Also, when Luke said he as looking for a ‘great warrior’, his response, “Wars not make one great.” was a bit more of a philosophically advanced thought than the seemingly simple creature fighting over the flashlight should be advancing. Big clue there.
IIRC, the in-universe reason is that droids who don’t routinely get wiped keep piling up experiences to develop a genuine personality complete with a sense of humor and real sentience, which would be awkward for a universe chock full of folks who overtly discriminate against 'em – inconveniencing others, who, uh, simply own 'em.
He did do well on Star Wars, but the sequels thrived despite his efforts. The sequels owe a ton to “the people who knew what they were doing”, not Lucas. Just look at the prequels.
Only C-3PO had his memory wiped.
That absolutely does not happen in “Star Wars.” Uncle Owen tells Luke to do it, but it never takes place.
I was 11. I don’t really recall exactly but I don’t think I knew from the beginning that the little guy was Yoda, but I think I wasn’t too surprised when it was revealed.
I was 11 as well. I was not surprised.
I was not surprised by the “I am your father” reveal either. But that was because my asshole neighbor told me before I could see the movie.
Saw it when it was released. I was 22. Knew immediately the little green muppet was Yoda. Seemed a bit lame.
I was blown away by the big reveal at the end. I still remember the chill I got from that.