It is not much of a stretch to suggest Star Wars fans should not get their hopes up for a major role for Yoda in The Force Awakens. While it is certainly possible the little green jedi could make a ghostly cameo, Yoda's fate in Return of the Jedi makes a more involved role for the fan favourite quite unlikely.

Nonetheless, Yoda's story is not over yet, and Frank Oz - the character's original voice actor and puppeteer - is to reprise his role in ongoing animated series Star Wars Rebels.

Yoda's iconic voice is set to make an appearance in an upcoming episode of the series, which takes place between the original and prequel trilogy. Speaking to TV Guide, the episode's director Dave Filoni says he made the decision to only feature the voice because "I felt personally to keep Yoda as this disembodied thing it would confuse the audience less. I didn't want you to think Yoda could be teleporting from planet to planet."

Filoni also says "what's great about Frank, by keeping the voice very present and active, you do feel that it's a watchfulness and that he's speaking to you from afar."

There have also been rumours that Yoda could enjoy his own spin-off movie, separate from the new 'core' Star Wars episodes. Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but for now fans have at least one new appearance from the diminutive jedi to look forward to.