Did You Know Yoda Was Almost Played by a Monkey?
Via: CBM
Here's a new bit of Star Wars news that I've never heard before. Apparently, Yoda was originally going to be played by a monkey, and there are a couple of rare behind the scenes photos from @mccrabb_will to prove it. According to him, the "Empire team initially hired a trainer and a MONKEY to hold a cane & play YODA."
The puppet was designed and built for Empire Strikes Back by Stuart Freeborn, with Jim Henson consulting. The monkey would have worn a Yoda mask. The plan was scrapped when the monkey kept pulling the mask off.
I've got to say, it would have been really weird to see a monkey play Yoda. I'm really glad that they ended up going with the puppet and Frank Oz.