How Old Was Yoda When He Died? He Lived for Hundreds of Years in 'Star Wars'
Published Nov. 1 2022, 5:28 p.m. ET
One of the most recognizable characters in Star Wars, Yoda somehow still remains one of the most mysterious beings in a galaxy far, far away. In a fictional universe filled with a diverse mix of humans, nonhumans, creatures, and droids, only several of his kind have ever appeared onscreen.
People want to know everything about him — especially his exact age.
Yoda lived hundreds of years and saw the rise and fall of the Galactic Republic. He also witnessed the tragic birth of the Galactic Empire and the demise of one of the most powerful Jedi of all time. Here's how old Yoda was when he died — and why Star Wars fans still have so many questions about where he came from.
Yoda was hundreds of years old when he died.
Yoda served the Jedi Order for many centuries before his exile to Dagobah at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and lived a few decades longer after isolating himself in a swamp when he failed to defeat Darth Sidious in combat.
In Return of the Jedi, Yoda reveals his age to Luke — 900 years old exactly — just before he dies. He was the last one to train Luke in the ways of the Force, and later appeared to his student as a Force Ghost alongside two of his former Jedi accomplices.
We don't know much about Yoda's species in 'Star Wars.'
Yoda is a small, green alien with long ears and a unique way of speaking. The name of his species has actually never been revealed, which could change (but probably won't) now that two other members of his species have been introduced into Star Wars lore since his debut in 1980.
The most well-known of these is Grogu ("Baby Yoda"), introduced in The Mandalorian. It was confirmed in The Book of Boba Fett that members of this and Yoda's species all live much longer than humans. Grogu is 50 years old, but exhibits classic toddler behavior with many years of development ahead of him.
If all goes well, he too could live quite a long time like Yoda did.
Long before serving as the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Yoda spent his many days training young Jedi students — maybe even Grogu — even way back during The High Republic.
How old was Yoda in The High Republic?
The High Republic era of Star Wars takes place about 250 years before the events of The Phantom Menace in its first phase of releases. Using Return of the Jedi as a reference point, you just have to count back about 36 years to estimate Yoda's age in Episode 1. He would have been around 864 when Anakin joined the Jedi Order.
Since these books and comics take place about 286 years before Yoda dies, he would have been in his early 600s at that point in the timeline. If you factor in the 150-year backward time jump in the newer books released in late 2022, he would be closer to 460 years old. Not quite middle-aged by his species' standards, and still much to learn, he has.