UPDATE: Lucasfilm has since confirmed new details about the younger version of Yoda that will appear in The High Republic. "This is Yoda out in the world, a journeyman who isn't tethered to one place," Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures writer Daniel José Older told CBR. "He's always been passionate about raising up the next generation of Jedi, and here we get to see him doing just that in real-world scenarios, not a stuffy classroom. It's basically like having Yoda chaperoning you on the coolest galactic field trip ever."
"Right away, concept artist Iain McCaig felt like the go-to artist to help us start to explore this new look for Yoda, so we called him up and started to talk about what directions to explore," head designer Troy Alders explained. "This mission outfit, with just tonal markings on the robe, are inspired by the Jedi Temple architectural details. Many new fans may not even notice these very subtle additions. The temple attire, however, from this special time of the golden age of the Jedi, feels so right with its elegance, and we are all extremely grateful for the artists that helped us arrive at such a beautiful solution for this important milestone in the Star Wars timeline."
After months of speculation, Lucasfilm finally shared the first details on the mysterious Project Luminous, which is now officially known as Star Wars: The High Republic. However, hidden in the announcement trailer is small tidbit fans may have missed regarding a certain green-skinned Jedi Master.
At the 2:30 mark in the trailer, there's a shot of artist Iain McCaig standing in front of a poster of Yoda, as well as a board full of sketches. Notably, the fifth and sixth sketches appear to depict a younger version of Jedi Master Yoda.
With The High Republic taking place 200 years prior to the events of The Phantom Menace and at the height of the Jedi Order, it would certainly make sense for Yoda to factor into the interconnected story in some fashion. After all, he'd only be a spry 700 years old at that point in time. This also falls in line with an earlier rumor that suggested the next Star Wars movie saga would take place during the High Republic era and feature a young Yoda, though it's possible that rumor stemmed from confusion based on what we now know about Project Luminous.
Star Wars: The High Republic begins Jan. 5, 2021 with Light of the Jedi, by Charles Soule.