When it comes to iconic Star Wars characters, one of the most enduring and enigmatic of the entire franchise only appeared on-screen for around 18 minutes in the original trilogy and died shortly after his first appearance. That character is Yoda – although you would be forgiven for thinking we were talking about Obi-Wan Kenobi, who only appeared for around 23 minutes in the trilogy and also died in his first appearance. During a recent appearance at a special anniversary screening of The Empire Strikes Back, creator George Lucas has addressed one question that everyone wants to know about the little green Jedi master – why does he talk in that strange backward pattern?

Some people always believe that there are big and elaborate reasons behind such personal character traits as Yoda’s unique and often-imitated way of speaking. However, Lucas is here to disappoint you with his pretty mundane reason for giving Yoda the personal quirk.