8 Years Ago, One Voice Actor Defined An Era Of Star Wars
No one’s ever really gone.
It’s hard to imagine Star Wars without Yoda. One of the few constants across much of the franchise’s sprawling timeline, every fan has heard countless Yoda impressions over the years, and they’ve probably seen his wise face on a lot of merchandise, too. In the movies, he’s voiced by Muppets legend Frank Oz, but there’s another actor who’s played Yoda on screen: Tom Kane, who portrayed Yoda (among others) in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Kane recently passed away at the age of 64, and without him, The Clone Wars would have been completely different. You may not realize it, but he’s been in every single episode.
Yoda’s Clone Wars appearances were memorable.
Kane played Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, and many others in The Clone Wars, but his most prolific role is actually not a named character; it was his voice that provided the newsreel-esque narration at the beginning of every episode. He also voiced Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and contributed additional voices to The Force Awakens, Solo, Rogue One, and The Rise of Skywalker. He didn’t even confine himself to canon, as he also voiced Yoda in Robot Chicken.
Yoda had a relatively minor role in The Clone Wars, as the series focused on Ahsoka and Anakin, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t important. There’s no better example than the last arc of Season 6, “Voices/Destiny/Sacrifice.” At the time, this was thought to be the final arc in Clone Wars as a whole, and it has the lofty story to match. The episodes follow Yoda as he encounters the Force Ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn, who sends him on a mission to Moraband, the Sith home planet. Across the three episodes, he sees visions of what’s to come for the Jedi, including the events of Order 66.
“Voices” established a new metaphysical side to The Force.
These episodes do what the Star Wars movies never had the space to do: show a nuanced, mystical Yoda, exploring the character beyond just the wise sage he was in the movies. Here, he’s a Jedi who’s undergoing spiritual trials, much like his future student, Luke. This distinct moment is enhanced by Kane’s vocal performance, which imbues so much feeling behind Yoda’s usual Muppety voice.
The Clone Wars may be over, but its influence over Star Wars will linger for a long time, especially as showrunner Dave Filoni is now co-President of Lucasfilm. And that series, for so many reasons, wouldn’t have been the same without Tom Kane.
