Does Yoda Die in the Star Wars Film Series?
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Yoda is known as one of the most powerful and oldest Star Wars characters. The Jedi Grandmaster was introduced as a frail old alien in the Original Star Wars Trilogy, only for his story to be expanded in later movies and the extended fictional universe. In this article, we are going to talk about Yoda’s death and tell you did Yoda die in the Star Wars film series, and how it happened. First, let’s see did Yoda die in Star Wars movies?
Yoda did die in the Star Wars universe. In Return of the Jedi, Yoda peacefully died at the age of 900, later becoming one with the Force.
Saying that, let’s take a deeper look into Yoda’s life, death, and everything in between. It’s time to analyze Yoda’s characters in more depth, and if you’re interested, stay with us.
Who is Yoda?
Yoda is a Jedi from the Star Wars universe and one of the most recognizable characters of the whole franchise. He is a small, green creature of unknown origin; Yoda’s origin (his home planet and his race) is still one of the biggest mysteries in the Star Wars universe and Lucas never revealed any details that can be considered canon.
He is a Jedi Grand Master and the leader of the Jedi Council. Yoda is both exceptionally old and exceptionally powerful, so powerful – in fact – that Yoda could easily be given the title of the most powerful Jedi in the movie franchise (we’re not counting the expanded universe because, for one, it is truly enormous for such a brief analysis and, likewise, it changed a lot in the recent years so it’s not always easy to determine what’s canon or not).
Although his forte is the Force – Yoda is by far the most powerful Force user in the series – Yoda is also an excellent Lightsaber user, as demonstrated on several occasions during the movies (specifically during his fights with Count Dooku and Darth Sidious). His Lightsaber skills are surpassed only by his friend and colleague, Mace Windu.
Aside from being powerful, Yoda has a lot of other qualities. He is a great tactician, as demonstrated during the Clone Wars, very knowledgeable (he can even manipulate the Force to see the future), and very wise, surpassing all other Jedi in those aspects.
Yoda was first introduced in the second movie, The Empire Strikes Back (actually Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back), as a “crazy old guy” living in the swamps of Dagobah. He eventually revealed himself to be the great Jedi Master and taught young Luke Skywalker, before eventually passing away at the age of 900 and becoming a Force Ghost, just like his former friends. His story is further expanded in the prequel trilogy and the expanded universe, while he makes a brief appearance as a Force Ghost in the sequel trilogy, talking to his former Padawan, Luke Skywalker.
Yoda was initially a puppet controlled and voiced by the legendary Frank Oz, but was later created using CGI, for the prequel trilogy. The puppet version returned briefly in the sequel trilogy once more.
Yoda’s death
In a recent article, we talked about the ages of particular characters from the Star Wars universe. There, we mentioned that Yoda was the second-oldest character in the movie series, just behind Maz Kanata (1,008 years), but she was introduced in the Sequel Trilogy as a new character, meaning that Yoda was for a long time the oldest character in the movies. When he was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was revealed to be 900 years old.
In the movie The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Yoda was first introduced to the franchise. He was initially mentioned by Ben Kenobi as a powerful Jedi Master who taught him while they were younger. Ben Kenobi instructed Luke Skywalker to look for Yoda and his guidance, so Luke traveled to the swamp planet Dagobah, where he met a crazy old alien who scavenged through his stuff. Luke initially had no clue as to who Yoda was, so he asked the crazy alien for help, only to be shocked when he revealed himself to be Yoda. Although initially skeptical, Luke would soon see that the crazy-looking old alien was indeed Yoda, the famed Jedi Master.
Yoda was initially reluctant to take on Luke as his apprentice, sensing in him the same anger that led to Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father, becoming Darth Vader. After talking to Ben Kenobi, Yoda finally agreed to train Luke. He taught him the ways of the Force and how to face his biggest fear, Darth Vader, although the confrontations were initially unsuccessful.
At one point, the training is interrupted because Luke decides to leave Dagobah to save his friends from Darth Vader. Although both Kenobi and Yoda asked him to stay and finish his training, stating that it was certainly a trap, Luke – stubborn as he was – still left, leaving Yoda and Ben Kenobi’s ghost on Dagobah. He made a brief appearance in Return of the Jedi (1983), when Luke returned to Dabogah to complete his training.
Luke found Yoda in a very frail state. His age had already gotten to him and he was dying. Yoda confirmed that Luke’s training was done, but that he wouldn’t become a Jedi until he finally confronted and defeated Darth Vader. Soon after that, Yoda peacefully passed away at the age of 900 and became a Force Ghost. You can see the scene in the video:
Yoda returned as a Force Ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi and made another appearance in The Last Jedi.
Did Yoda die from old age?
Yes, Yoda did die from old age. As one of Star Wars’ oldest characters, he was 900 years old when he died. After death, Yoda became one with the force.
So, there you have it – Yoda did die in Return of the Jedi, at the age of 900. His death was a peaceful one, as he died from old age, and he later became a Force Ghost and returned on a couple of occasions.
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