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- "Small, green, and wrinkly with pointy ears."
- ―Ezra Bridger talking about Kanan Jarrus' description of Yoda
The species to which the Jedi Grand Master Yoda belonged was ancient and shrouded in mystery. Members of this species were rarely seen anywhere in the galaxy. The few members of this species seen in the galaxy were all Force-sensitive, and the species' homeworld and name were unknown.
Biology and appearance
- "Wait. They said fifty years old."
"Species age differently. Perhaps it could live many centuries." - ―Din Djarin and IG-11 upon discovering an infant of the species
Din Grogu, an infant member of the species.
The species included male[11] and female genders.[2] Members of the species were small in size, roughly comparable to that of a human child, with green skin, large eyes, and long pointed ears. Their three-fingered hands ended in claws.[3] One member of the species, Grogu, caught and devoured live amphibians whole,[8] while another member, Yoda, made rootleaf stews.[9] Their ears were expressive, curling, and unfurling in accordance with their emotions.[4]
Members of the species were capable of growing thin hair, with shades varying from auburn to white being documented, females having longer and thicker hair than males. The species had a very long life expectancy, spanning at least several centuries; Yoda lived nearly a thousand years before dying of old age,[6] and they aged very slowly, remaining in infancy for at least fifty standard years.[5] Even at this stage of life, certain Force-sensitive individuals of this species could use Force powers such as telekinesis and Force healing;[8][12] they were also capable of complex thought processes, and could understand speech and communicate via the Force at this age.[13] Despite their slow aging for the first five decades of life,[5] members of the species reached maturity by their hundredth year, as exemplified by the Jedi Yoda, who began training other Jedi when he was about one hundred years old.[6] According to Yaddle, Yoda was considered to be middle-aged[14] at 514.[15]
Society and culture
- "I want to tell you about someone you remind me of a great deal. His name was Yoda. He was small like you, but his heart was huge and the Force was strong in him. He once said to me 'Size matters not.' That's how he talked. He would speak in riddles. Have you heard anyone talk like that back home?"
- ―Luke Skywalker to Grogu
Due to the rarity of the species in the wider galaxy,[7] little was known about them except that the species was ancient and shrouded in mystery.[17] Members of the species were capable of speaking Galactic Basic Standard, although Yoda often used a distinctive syntax.[1]
History
Yoda, Grand Master of the Jedi
- "Do, or do not. There is no try."
- ―Yoda to Luke Skywalker
Yoda served as Grand Master of the Jedi Order when he was almost nine centuries old.
Yoda, the last Grand Master of the Jedi Order prior to its fall at the end of the Clone Wars,[3] was a member of the species born around the standard year 896 BBY.[18] He began training other Jedi when he was around a century old.[6] Over the centuries, Yoda, who never revealed what his homeworld was,[7] trained many Jedi before eventually becoming the Grand Master of the entire order.[3] One of his final Padawans was Dooku, a human male who eventually left the Order and fell to the dark side, becoming the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, who served as Darth Sidious' right-hand man in the orchestration of the Clone Wars.[19] When Sidious, publicly Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, revealed himself and issued Order 66, which killed most Jedi across the galaxy, Yoda was one of the few survivors, returning to Coruscant and dueling the self-declared Galactic Emperor; however, Yoda was forced to retreat.[3] Yoda subsequently went into hiding on the remote planet Dagobah, eventually training one final student, Luke Skywalker, during the Galactic Civil War to overthrow Sidious' Galactic Empire.[1] Yoda died on Dagobah shortly before the Battle of Endor, afterwards becoming a Force spirit.[20]
Yaddle of the Jedi Council
- "Yaddle is known for being very kind and quiet, but on the other hand possesses some of the deadliest Force powers."
- ―An artist, in his journal
Yaddle served on the Jedi High Council at the same time as Yoda.
During the same period of time, one other member of the species, Yaddle, was also a member of the Jedi Order.[2] Born in 509 BBY,[22] she was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi High Council during the Invasion of Naboo.[23] She trained at least one Padawan, Oppo Rancisis.[24] After the Battle of Naboo, Yaddle decided to take a less active role in Jedi affairs[25] and stepped down from the Council.[2] Yaddle then pursued Count of Serenno and former Jedi Master Dooku after observing suspicious behavior on his part. She ended up encountering the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, who ordered the count to kill the Jedi. Yaddle was subsequently defeated and murdered by Dooku, another step on his path to the dark side.[26]
Din Grogu, the Mandalorian apprentice
- "He was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Many Masters trained him over the years. At the end of the Clone Wars when the Empire rose to power, he was hidden. Someone took him from the Temple. Then his memory becomes dark. He seemed lost. Alone."
- ―Ahsoka Tano feeling Grogu's thoughts
Around 41 BBY,[27] Grogu was born. At some point before 19 BBY, he was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where many masters trained him over the years until the end of the Clone Wars when the Galactic Empire rose to power.[13] By 9 ABY, Grogu was kept in a compound on the planet Arvala-7, guarded by a faction of Nikto mercenaries against various bounty hunters sent after him. Eventually, Din Djarin and IG-11 defeated the mercenaries, with Djarin leaving with Grogu after destroying the assassin droid, whose instructions had been to kill the infant while Djarin's had been to take him alive if possible.[5] Although he initially handed Grogu over to his client, Djarin had a change of heart and chose to return and rescue him,[28] placing both him and Grogu in the crosshairs of an Imperial remnant headed by the war criminal Moff Gideon, who wanted Grogu for his own purposes.[8] After prevailing in an initial battle against Gideon's forces, Djarin, now acting as Grogu's father by Mandalorian Creed, was charged with protecting Grogu until he could get him to either his own people or a Jedi.[29]
Grogu was a foundling discovered by the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin.
After many adventures, Din Djarin finally found Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi Padawan. However, Ahsoka refused to train Grogu because of his feelings of anger, and fear, and his attachment to Djarin. Ahsoka then told Djarin to go to the ruins of an ancient temple on Tython.[13] On Tython, Grogu reached out with the Force while members of Gideon's forces attempted to capture him. He was eventually captured by Gideon's Dark Troopers, and brought aboard his light cruiser.[30] He was later rescued by Djarin and the timely intervention of Luke Skywalker.[31]
Yoda's species in the galaxy
- "Is he your brother?"
"Hush, child. He is not. He is Master Yoda, a great teacher." - ―Cippa Tarko, questioning Yaddle's relationship to Yoda.
The species, its origins shrouded in mystery,[17] was rarely seen, with only a few members known to the wider galaxy.[7] All known members of the species active in the galaxy were Force users and affiliated with the Jedi.[2][11][12]
Behind the scenes
- "So he's a mystery character. He's a magical character. He has no background. He comes and he goes. He's the subversive secret mysterious stranger that enters the film and then exits at the end."
- ―George Lucas, about Yoda
Star Wars creator George Lucas chose to keep the name and background of Yoda's species a mystery.[32] Both Yoda and Yaddle's Databank entries on StarWars.com list their species as "Unknown."[2][11] Interviewed for The Clone Wars: Season Three, Supervising Director Dave Filoni confirmed the show had no plans to reveal Yoda's homeworld, further stating that he believed the world would never actually be seen in any story. To Filoni, giving such an answer would ruin a major part of the fun of Yoda's character: the mystery of his origins.[33]
In the documentary "From Puppets to Pixels," available on the DVD bonus disc of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, Lucas joked that Yoda was "the illegitimate child of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy."[34]
In The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?, a canon retelling of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back written by Adam Gidwitz, Luke Skywalker calls Yoda a "little swamp frog."[35] In the 2019 canon audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost, the young noble Ramil claims that Yoda looked like a slime-gnome.[19]
Maz Kanata, one of the main characters of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, was originally sketched by Industrial Light & Magic concept artist Christian Alzmann as a member of Yoda's species around March 2013. Three months later, Alzmann redesigned the character as hunched, green alien with a headdress and, one month later, redesigned her face to be bug-eyed and snub-nosed, distancing her from Yoda's design.[36]
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
Sources
Non-canon sources
Star Wars: Visions — "Filmmaker Focus – Lop & Ochō" (Picture only)
