Appear in The Force Awakens, Yoda almost did

The editors of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have admitted to being tempted by the side of the Force that involves pointlessly jarring cameos of old characters. In the end, however, they opted against one for Yoda.

Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey told Entertainment Tonight they were all set to do it, too. Frank Oz, Yoda's voice (and puppeteer, on the occasions Yoda has been a puppet) "came in for a day and did a whole bunch of Yoda," Brandon said. He was happy and they were happy and that was that.

Then the two editors went back on it, tossing whatever Yoda material they had. Oz's voice is still part of the much-talked-about montage when Rey has her Force vision, but no Yoda.

Yoda, of course, croaked in Return of the Jedi, whose events are set about 20 years before those of The Force Awakens. Nothing precludes him from reappearing as a blue-haloed Force ghost or in some other form, corporeal or otherwise, but considering how much The Force Awakens drew on content and themes from the original trilogy, probably best to let sleeping 900-year-old Jedi Masters lie.