After officially announcing that a Dark Side version of Master Yoda would be added to the list of characters in the galaxy far, far away, Star Wars provided fans with a first look at what the character will look like when he makes his debut. Yoda is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and beloved characters in Star Wars history. Since he was introduced in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda has appeared in multiple films and TV shows set within the world of Star Wars, and continues to be one of the franchise's most important characters.
Yoda has historically been depicted as someone who, on the spectrum of the Force, is as far to the Light Side as one can get. However, Star Wars and EA will be treating fans to a Dark Side version of the character in a new era that is coming to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, and EA even released a full look at this Yoda's character design. Notably, many Star Wars fans will likely be familiar with it, as this isn't the first time it has ever been showcased in a Star Wars project.
For reference, Star Wars and EA recently announced that a new wave of characters will be coming to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, as part of an expansion titled "Era of Myths & Legends." Notably, the characters within this expansion are marketed as names who have either appeared in Star Wars Legends projects (the Legends part of the expansion title) or characters who have become popular in fan theories, such as Darth Jar Jar (Myths).
While quite a few characters were officially revealed, as were their official art pieces, EA and Star Wars announced that Yoda would be included in the expansion, but that it would be a Dark Side version of him. His official character name is Yoda (Dark Side Vision), and EA purposely did not release any art of that character.
However, Star Wars and EA came out with an official banner for the entire Era of Myths & Legends expansion, and on that banner, Yoda (Dark Side Vision) can be clearly seen. Since the new update has technically gone live, a loading screen featuring the characters in the expansion can be seen as the mobile game is booting up. Notably, Yoda (Dark Side Vision) is just to the right of Starkiller (Luke Concept), which is a character based on George Lucas' original version of Luke Skywalker, whom he originally named Luke Starkiller.
Yoda (Dark Side Vision) appears more like a wispy cloud of black smoke than green (Yoda's normal skin color). He also has orange-yellow eyes and stands on all fours, as opposed to how the regular Yoda just walks on two feet.
This is definitely a departure from the normal version of Yoda in Star Wars canon in terms of character design. Essentially, every detail about the Dark Side Vision version of Yoda is different than the regular Yoda from canon.
It is worth noting that this exact version of Yoda has appeared in canon before, though. Specifically, in The Clone Wars Season 6 (during the arc that featured both Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Bane), this character appeared to Yoda as a manifestation of a piece of darkness within him. Yoda had to confront this darkness before he could move forward.
Notably, in The Clone Wars, the manifestation that Yoda came face-to-face with looked identical to the Yoda (Dark Side Vision) character in Galaxy of Heroes, which is quite interesting considering the game expansion revolves around characters who aren't canon. The Dark Side Yoda vision from The Clone Wars is entirely canon, so it is seemingly a bit of a departure from the nature of the expansion.
In Galaxy of Heroes, Yoda (Dark Side Vision) is classified as a Healer and Sith, and his abilities include Force Fisticuffs (basic ability), Consume, I Will (Special 1), Hear Me, You Will (Special 2), Learn the Darkness, You Will (Unique 1), and You are Weak... POWERLESS (Unique 2).
Obviously, this is a big change for Yoda, as he has always been depicted as completely righteous and someone who won't even dabble in the Dark Side. However, one canceled Star Wars show was going to apparently explore what a darker side of Yoda would have looked like, but it never got the chance to.
Other Star Wars Characters Coming to Galaxy of Heroes
As mentioned, other characters in the expansion include non-canon characters such as Mara Jade, who became popular in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy of novels in the 1990s. Mara Jade is already in Galaxy of Heroes as the Emperor's Hand version of herself, but this particular version is based on the character after she married Luke Skywalker and became a Light Side Force user.
Another character who will be in this expansion is Darth Jar Jar. For years, Star Wars fans have enjoyed theorizing that Jar Jar was actually a secret Sith Lord in the prequel trilogy and was behind everything that Palpatine did. It is definitely an interesting theory, as there are multiple pieces of evidence to support it (none stronger than George Lucas himself calling Jar Jar the "key" to everything).
Darth Jar Jar has become less of a theory and more of a reality in recent years, especially outside of Star Wars canon. The character has popped up in other games like Fortnite, and has also been featured in LEGO Star Wars specials on Disney+. Now, he is joining the ranks of Galaxy of Heroes.
The new Myths & Legends era in Galaxy of Heroes is also adding a few characters based on Ralph McQuarrie's original concept art for A New Hope. For example, a Dark Side character in the expansion will be based on the concept art for Stormtroopers, who had a completely different design than what fans are used to. Most notably, the original idea for Stormtroopers had them carrying lightsabers and shields. Of course, Lucas scrapped that idea, but McQuarrie's concept art has become wildly popular over the years.
Speaking of that concept art, another character based on one of those characters is also coming to Galaxy of Heroes. As mentioned, it will be the original character design and name for Luke Skywalker, who, at the time, was going to be named Luke Starkiller. Luke's original design doesn't look that crazy, but he definitely doesn't look like the Luke that made it to the final cut.
Another notable addition to Galaxy of Heroes is a more recent character who was introduced in a Disney+ project, and that is none other than the Ronin from Star Wars: Visions. Notably, Ronin is being added as a Dark Side character and will have his droid, R5-D56, with him.
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