How Old Was Yoda When He Died in ‘Star Wars’?

Star Wars takes us to a different galaxy filled with beings of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Well, except for the humans that tend to skew white and male (Leia seemed to be the only woman in the galaxy for a long time). From Wookiees to Twi’leks, Star Wars has several iconic species. The most memorable, however, is a little old green guy named Yoda.

Yoda’s pointy ears and distinct way of speaking set him apart from the rest. For being so small, he is very powerful with the Force and is one of history’s greatest Jedi. We don’t know much about Yoda’s race as only three of them have appeared in Star Wars over the years. The main facts we know are that they are small in stature, strong with the force, and age slower than humans do. So exactly how old was Yoda when he died?

That’s a lot of birthday candles

When Luke Skywalker first met Yoda in The Empire Strikes back, he said he had been training Jedi for 800 years. Already we know he lives longer than the average Star Wars human lifespan (around 100 years). In Return of the Jedi, Yoda distinctly tells Luke “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.” Yoda died not long after that. This means, if Yoda is telling the truth, he would have passed away at 900 years old.

Yoda’s comment about training Jedis also gives us insight into another of Yoda’s species. Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) appears child-like in The Mandalorian, but is around 50 years old. If Yoda became a Jedi Master at about 100 years old, we can guess that Grogu has another 30 to 50 years before he reaches full adulthood.

Yoda spoke his last words and disappeared into the Force in Return of the Jedi. The official cause of Yoda’s death was old age. The Force told him that Luke’s training was complete and he could leave his mortal body. But I think my fellow parents will agree he probably died of Luke’s incessant questions.

(feature image: Disney/Lucasfilm)