“I’ve been warning them about the coming darkness,” says longtime Dooku actor Corey Burton later in the trailer. This of course refers to a key element of Dooku’s backstory in Episode II, where he was played by the late Christopher Lee. As you might remember, Dooku’s whole beef with the Jedi — and the reason he left the Order — was because he believed they now served a corrupt Republic, one heavily influenced by the dark side. Of course, the big twist is that Dooku ends up serving the very evil he warned against, becoming Darth Sidious’ apprentice and helping him execute his plans.
Interestingly, it’s in these Dooku segments of the Tales of the Jedi trailer that Lucasfilm has also hidden an even bigger tease connected to the Prequel Trilogy. At about 1:25, we get a series of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it clips of Dooku dueling none other than Jedi Master Yaddle…
Why is this significant? Because it might finally explain what happened to Yaddle after the events of The Phantom Menace.
You see, despite being featured prominently during the Jedi Council scenes in Episode I, and being introduced as the only known counterpart to the legendary Master Yoda, Yaddle disappeared after her big screen debut, never to be seen or mentioned again in the Prequel Trilogy. Just go back and watch the Jedi Temple scenes in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Yaddle is nowhere to be found.
Now, it’s reasonable to assume that the tepid reaction to The Phantom Menace convinced George Lucas to change all kinds of things for his remaining two Prequel entries, such as embracing a CGI model for Yoda in Attack of the Clones as opposed to using the off-putting puppet from Episode I. Perhaps Lucas decided that animating two Yodas was too expensive? Or maybe two Yodas in the same movie felt superfluous to the Maker after the fact?
While we’ve never received an official explanation for why Yaddle was cut from the remaining Prequels, fans know even less about what happened to her in-universe. The Ultimate Star Wars reference book (via Wookieepedia) simply reveals that Yaddle chose to step down from the Jedi Council before Attack of the Clones but not what happened to her after.