Star Wars fans roast horrifying Yoda redesign we wish we could un-see

Star Wars fans aren’t too keen on the redesigned version of Yoda we originally received, and honestly it is way worse than I remembered it being.

Back when Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace first dropped in cinemas, we were treated to something fans had wanted to see since the character first popped up in the original trilogy of films: young Yoda.

Except, fans didn’t quite get what they asked for, because this dude is not Yoda.

As detailed in a post over on the r/StarWars subreddit, the original 1999 puppet version of Yoda is, uh, horrifying? What is going on with his beady little eyes and his strange, pig-like nose?

In a rare example of the Star Wars community agreeing on something, everyone in the comments prefers the CGI recreation of the character in the Blu-Ray release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

“For Phantom Menace, I prefer CG Yoda…” commented user BARD3N_GUNN.

“Not only does it bring him more in line with how Yoda is portrayed throughout the rest of the Prequel Trilogy, but also I've always felt in their attempt to recreate the Yoda puppet whilst also adding more detail and making him look slightly younger just resulted in a puppet that looked a bit rubbish.”

“CG. They went in too weird a direction with the puppet—it looked like a different dude,” replied user DecemberPaladin.

”I’m all for practical effects when appropriate, but they f**ked up in the design phase.”

I am also inclined to agree, not just because the original puppet looks odd and unsettling, but because it also brings things in line with the rest of the prequel trilogy’s films.

Going from Episode I to Episode II and seeing CGI Yoda for the first time was a bit of a surprise, and watching him suddenly capable of doing backflips made the whole thing even more jarring.