Yoda

Jedi Master Yoda is amongst the oldest, most stoic and most powerful known Jedi Masters in the Star Wars universe. Series creator George Lucas opted to have many details of the character's life history remain unknown. Yoda's race and home world have not been named in any official media, canonical or otherwise, and he is merely said to be of a "species unknown" by the Star Wars Databank. Yoda's characteristic speech patterns—conceived by Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan, and developed by Oz[14]—have been analyzed and discussed by academic syntacticians, who found it somewhat inconsistent, but could extrapolate that it has object–subject–verb word order[15] making it anastrophe.

The films and Expanded Universe reveal that he had a hand in training almost every Jedi Master in the galaxy. In the Star Wars prequel films, he instructs several younglings in the Jedi Temple before they are assigned to a master. In The Empire Strikes Back he mentions that he had been training Jedi "for 800 years", which means he must have been a Master Jedi for quite some time before that.

Two other members of Yoda's unnamed alien species are known in current Star Wars canon: Yaddle (who appears as a background female character in the prequel trilogy film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a Jedi master) and the character in The Mandalorian known as "The Child" (called "Baby Yoda" by fans and media). Their respective relation (if any) to Yoda is unknown. Very little is known about Yoda's alien species, though all three are powerful in The Force,[16][17] suggesting it is a shared characteristic of the species.

Yoda makes his first film appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) arrives on Dagobah to seek his guidance, having been instructed to do so by the Force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), who describes him as "the Jedi Master who instructed me".

Yoda does not initially identify himself to Luke and instead tests his patience by presenting himself as a comical backwater individual, deliberately provoking both Luke and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). Luke is shocked when he finally discovers that this small, eccentric creature is the powerful Jedi Master he was seeking. Finding that Luke has the same anger and recklessness which caused his father's downfall, Yoda is reluctant to teach him the ways of the Force, and agrees only at Obi-Wan's behest. Before finishing his training, however, Luke chooses to leave Dagobah in order to confront Darth Vader (portrayed by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) and save his friends on Bespin. Yoda and Obi-Wan warn him that he is not ready to face Vader and is being lured into a trap, but Luke leaves anyway, promising to return. When Obi-Wan laments that Luke is their "last hope," Yoda reminds him that "there is another".

Yoda makes a brief appearance in Return of the Jedi, set a year after The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda, now sick and frail, informs Luke that he has completed his training but will not be a Jedi until he confronts Darth Vader; he also confirms that Vader is Luke's father, something Vader had told Luke in the previous film. Yoda then peacefully dies at the age of 900, his body disappearing as he becomes "one with the Force". He leaves Luke with the knowledge that "there is another Skywalker". Moments later, Obi-Wan's ghost helps Luke come to the realization that the "other" of whom Yoda spoke is Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), who is his twin sister.

In the film's final scene, after the Empire has been defeated, Luke sees Yoda's spirit looking upon him with pride, alongside Obi-Wan and the redeemed Anakin Skywalker (Sebastian Shaw in the original version of the film, Hayden Christensen in the 2004 DVD release), Vader's former Jedi self.[18]

Yoda returns as a younger version of himself in the prequel trilogy beginning with The Phantom Menace. The film marked the final time Oz would portray the character as a puppet, until the release of The Last Jedi (2017).[19] However, in the 2011 Blu-ray release of The Phantom Menace, the Yoda puppet was replaced by a CGI character to match the later depiction of the character. In the film, which is set 35 years before The Empire Strikes Back, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) brings the young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) to the Jedi Council. Qui-Gon is convinced that Anakin is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the Force, and requests the boy be trained as a Jedi. Yoda senses great fear in Anakin, especially in regards to his attachment to his mother Shmi (Pernilla August), and foresees "grave danger" in his training. The Council, led at the time by Yoda's former padawan Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), rejects Qui-Gon's request.

When Qui-Gon is mortally wounded in a duel with Sith Lord Darth Maul (played by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz), his dying request to his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is that Anakin be trained as a Jedi. Obi-Wan, determined to fulfill his promise to his master, tells Yoda that he will train the boy, even without the Council's approval. Yoda makes Obi-Wan a Jedi Knight, and reluctantly gives his blessing to Anakin's training.[20]

Yoda's CGI appearance in Attack of the Clones

Yoda makes his first CGI appearance in Attack of the Clones, set a decade after The Phantom Menace. Yoda, now in direct control of the Order's policy as Master of the High Council in addition to his traditional position as Grandmaster, is one of the many Jedi who are concerned about the emergence of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a secessionist movement wanting independence from the Galactic Republic. After the first attempted assassination of Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) suggests that she be put under the protection of Obi-Wan, who is training Anakin (now played by Hayden Christensen). In a deleted scene, a meditating Yoda senses Anakin slaughtering the Tusken Raiders who murdered his mother.

At the climax of the film, Yoda arrives in time to save Obi-Wan and Anakin from the Separatists and defeats his former apprentice, Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), the Separatists’ leader and a Sith lord, in a lightsaber duel.

In Revenge of the Sith, Yoda leads the Jedi Council in pursuing the mysterious Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Palpatine has by now amassed near-dictatorial emergency powers, and begins interfering in Jedi affairs by appointing Anakin as his personal representative on the Council. The Council grants Anakin a Council seat, but denies him the rank of Master, feeling that doing so would amount to giving Palpatine a vote in the Council. Additionally, they order him to spy on Palpatine, whom Anakin considers a friend and mentor.

Anakin seeks Yoda's counsel about his prophetic visions that someone close to him will die. Yoda, unaware that the person Anakin speaks of is Padmé, or that she is Anakin's wife and pregnant with his child, tells him to "train yourself to let go of everything that you fear to lose". Unsatisfied, Anakin turns to Palpatine, who then reveals himself as Darth Sidious. Palpatine manipulates the young Jedi into becoming his Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, with the promise that the dark side of the Force holds the power to save Padmé from dying in childbirth.

Palpatine later transforms the Republic into the tyrannical Galactic Empire, proclaiming himself emperor for life, and orders the clone troopers to kill their Jedi generals. At this time, Yoda is on Kashyyyk, overseeing the battle between the Separatist forces and a combined command of clone troopers and Wookiees. Through the Force, Yoda feels the deaths of each of the Jedi as they are assassinated by their own troops. After swiftly killing the clone troopers instructed to kill him, he escapes with Wookiee leaders Tarfful (Michael Kingma) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and returns to Coruscant, where he and Obi-Wan fight their way into the Jedi Temple to stop a trap for all surviving Jedi. Inside, they discover that all the Jedi inside, younglings included, have been slaughtered. They then discover a holographic recording, revealing Vader as the assassin. Yoda decides to face Palpatine, sending Obi-Wan to kill Vader. When Obi-Wan protests, Yoda tells him that the Anakin he knew no longer exists, having been "consumed by Darth Vader".

Subsequently, Yoda battles Palpatine in a lightsaber duel that wrecks the Senate Rotunda. In the end, neither is able to overcome the other and Yoda is forced to retreat. He goes into exile on Dagobah so that he may hide from the Empire and wait for another opportunity to destroy the Sith. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Yoda has been in contact with Qui-Gon's spirit, learning the secret of immortality from him and passing it on to Obi-Wan.

Yoda is also instrumental in deciding the fate of the Skywalker children after Padmé dies in childbirth, recommending that Luke and Leia be hidden from Vader and Palpatine; he sends Leia to be adopted by Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) of Alderaan, and Luke to Vader's stepfamily Owen (Joel Edgerton) and Beru Lars (Bonnie Piesse) on Tatooine. Other than the ancient Jedi Master, only the Organas, the Lars family, R2-D2 and Obi-Wan know of their true identities.[21]

In The Force Awakens, set 30 years after Yoda's death in Return of the Jedi, Yoda's voice is heard by the young scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) in a Force vision after she discovers Luke Skywalker's under the a castle owned by Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o).[22]

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Yoda appears to Luke as a Force spirit as Luke debates whether to burn down the tree storing the Sacred Texts of the Jedi.[23] As Luke makes his way to the tree, Yoda appears behind him and reminds him that a Jedi must always be sure of his path. When Luke decides against burning down the tree and destroying the texts, Yoda summons a lightning bolt down upon the tree, setting it ablaze. When confronting Yoda as to why he did it, Yoda assures Like that the books contained no knowledge that Rey already possessed, teaching Luke that true Jedi knowledge is not found in books, but within Jedi themselves, and it is their responsibility to pass that knowledge on. As Luke takes in the message, he sits with Yoda and shares a quiet moment with his former master.

Unlike in the prequels, where fight scenes necessitated the character be rendered in with computer-generated imagery, Yoda is once more portrayed using puppetry.[24]

Yoda appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker via voice-over, as one of the voices of Jedi past who speak to Rey during her battle against Emperor Palpatine.[25]

Yoda appears in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, voiced by Tom Kane. In the prequel film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Yoda assigns Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) his own Padawan, Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein), as he believes that she will help Anakin grow as a Jedi and as a person. Throughout most of the series, Yoda spends his time on Coruscant with the Jedi Council, but he occasionally leaves for certain tasks, such as negotiations with King Katuunko (voiced by Brian George) on Rugosa, and a confrontation with Asajj Ventress' (voiced by Grey DeLisle) droid army. Yoda also watches over Anakin and Ahsoka throughout the series, pleased that they are both maturing due to each other's influence. However, in the final arc of season five, Ahsoka is framed for a crime she didn't commit, and Yoda and the Jedi Council expel her and turn her over to the Republic military. Along with other members of the Council, Yoda observes Ahsoka's trial, but Anakin bursts in with the true culprit, fallen Jedi Barriss Offee (voiced by Meredith Salenger), before the verdict can be read. Afterwards Yoda, Anakin and the Council personally invite Ahsoka to rejoin the Order, but she refuses and leaves. According to show runner Dave Filoni, Yoda blames himself for Ahsoka's departure, as he had made her Anakin's padawan in the first place.

In the final arc of the sixth season, Yoda hears Qui-Gon Jinn speaking to him from beyond the grave. Yoda flees the Jedi Temple with R2-D2 to travel to Dagobah, his future home, to find answers. Shown cryptic visions of the fall of the Jedi, Yoda learns he has been "chosen" to learn how to manifest his consciousness after death as a Force ghost. Yoda is tested by a group of spirit priestesses in order to overcome trials and temptations on his pilgrimage; one of these tests is to face an illusion of ancient Sith lord Darth Bane (voiced by Mark Hamill). Yoda's final test is to resist an attempt by Darth Sidious and Dooku to lure him to the dark side with a false vision of deceased Jedi Master Sifo Dyas. Yoda engages in a metaphysical battle with Sidious, and appears to sacrifice his life in order to save Anakin's – only to awaken and discover that the battle was merely a vision, and that he has passed the test. The priestesses inform Yoda that his training will resume in time.

Yoda was heard in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Path of the Jedi" with Frank Oz reprising the role for the first time since Revenge of the Sith.[26] He communicates with Padawan Ezra Bridger and his master Kanan Jarrus during their experience in an ancient temple on Lothal, and helps the pair do some soul-searching to analyze their true motivations. He appears physically for the first time, in the season 2 episode "Shroud of Darkness", in which he tells Ezra he should find Malachor and reunites with Ahsoka after nearly 20 years.

Yoda appears in canon books and other media, including Dooku: Jedi Lost and Master & Apprentice, which take place before The Phantom Menace. In some of these works, he is referred to as the "Grand Master of the Jedi Order".

With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.[27][28][29]

Yoda appears in the 2003 Cartoon Network animated television series Star Wars: Clone Wars, voiced by Tom Kane. In the show, Yoda is made a general, like many of the Jedi Knights and Masters. Yoda escorts Padmé on their journey to an unspecified planet, but Yoda senses several Jedi in distress on Ilum. Using the Jedi mind trick to convince Captain Typho to take them to Ilum, Yoda saves two Jedi Knights and finds a message from Count Dooku giving orders to destroy the Jedi Temple on Ilum. In the animated series' final episode, Yoda fights side by side with Mace Windu to defend Coruscant, which is under attack from the Separatists. The two Jedi Masters realize too late that the battle is a distraction; Separatist leader General Grievous truly intends to kidnap Palpatine. The Jedi Master's effort to stop Grievous fails, and Palpatine is taken hostage, thus setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith.

Yoda is a supporting character in Dark Horse Comics' Clone Wars tie-in comic books.

• TomTom has included a "Yoda" voice as one of the Celebrity GPS voicings in their "Star Wars" voice series.[37]

• Lego's Yoda minifigure was the first of their figures to be shorter than the other toys in the Lego Star Wars line; it has shorter legs than the other action figures.[38] Yoda appears in a television series based on the Lego Star Wars toys, created by the Lego company, among them Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles, Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles, and Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales.