Star Wars: How Old Was Yoda When He Died? (2023)

Star Wars’ Yoda was one of the greatest Jedi Masters of all time and, during the final stages of the Jedi Order, served as the Grand Master. Of course, Yoda is so strong and wise because he could live for a very long time and longer than most Jedi have lived. He outlived almost all of the Jedi that saw the final days of the Jedi Order before dying due to old age. So, how old was Yoda when he died?

Yoda was 900 years old at the time of his death, as he revealed this fact to Luke while training the young Skywalker on the swampy planet of Dagobah. He also told Luke that he had trained Jedi for 800 years, which means that he started his journey as a Jedi Master at the age of 100.

Of course, the thing about Yoda’s species is that these little green creatures tend to live for a very long time and are innately strong in the Force. They also tend to mature rather slowly, as seen from the fact that Grogu was still just a toddler when he was around 50 years old. That would mean that Yoda was still quite young when he was a hundred. Now, let’s look at how old Yoda was at his death.

Yoda’s Age at Death

Throughout the entire storyline of Star Wars, one of the characters that fans were quickly interested in was Yoda because he was the Jedi Master that Obi-Wan Kenobi said Luke should look for so that he could continue his training. After all, Yoda trained almost all of the Jedi that lived during the final days of the Jedi Order and was arguably the greatest Jedi of his generation. And let’s not forget that Yoda was the Grand Master during the end of the Jedi Order’s lifespan.

As such, when Yoda was introduced in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, he quickly won the hearts of fans due to his quick quips and small stature. Despite being small and old, Yoda was very powerful in the Force and could do things that the other Jedi couldn’t do. And Yoda fought Emperor Palpatine to a standstill even though he was a lot older than all of the other Jedi at that time.

Regarding Yoda’s age, not many people would remember that he was very old during the final days of his life. Yoda died while he was training Luke on the planet of Dagobah, as his old age finally took its toll on his body. At the time of his death, Yoda was around 900 years old.

The fact that Yoda was 900 years old was revealed in a conversation during the earlier scenes of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He told Luke that he was already 900 years old and was about to die.

Master Yoda: That face you make… Look I so old to young eyes?

Luke Skywalker: No, of course not.

Master Yoda: I do. Yes, I do. Sick have I become. Old and weak. When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not? Soon will I rest. Yes. Forever sleep. Earned it I have.

Furthermore, during the events of Star Wars Episode V, he said that he spent 800 years of his life training Jedi. As such, he was already very old during the final days of his life and had reached the end of his lifespan at the age of 900.

We don’t know if this is the ceiling age of Yoda’s species or if Yoda could have a longer lifespan than all of the other members of his species (considering that he was strong in the Force). But all we know is that he was the one Jedi that lived during the events before the High Republic, during the High Republic, before the Clone Wars, during the Clone Wars, and the Empire’s reign. He saw many things and met many people in the 900 years that he lived, which means that he was able to witness most of the events that transpired after the fall of the Sith Order.

How Old Was Grogu When Yoda Died?

While Yoda may be a unique member of his species, other Jedi shared the same species as he did. We met Master Yaddle back in the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Yaddle died at the hands of Count Dooku during the events that transpired after Darth Maul’s death. Of course, there’s Grogu, the last known living member of Yoda’s species during the era of the New Republic.

We met Grogu when he was just a toddler who couldn’t speak yet. However, during the events of The Mandalorian, it was revealed that he was already 50 years old. The Mandalorian happened five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and that means that Grogu lived through the final days of the Empire and during the era of the New Republic.

It was also revealed that Grogu was there in the Jedi Temple during the events of Order 66 and was simply a baby at that time. He lived for the next 23 and was already alive when Yoda died, as this dismissed any theories that he could’ve been the reincarnation of the old Jedi Grand Master. At the time of Yoda’s death, Grogu was already 45 years old because Return of the Jedi happened five years before The Mandalorian, where it was revealed that Grogu was already 50.

How Many Years Can Yoda’s Species Live?

At this point, it is safe to say that Yoda’s species can live for a very long time and several centuries before dying of old age. Of course, this is largely due to how they mature much slower than most of the other species we’ve seen in the Star Wars galaxy. And proof of that is the fact that Grogu was still just a toddler at the age of 50.

That means that it is possible that almost all of Yoda’s species can live for centuries and perhaps as long as 900 years old. To put things into perspective, Yaddle was around 477 years old when she died, and she didn’t even look as old as Yoda did then. But she still looked a bit mature and could be around 50 to 60 human years in terms of her appearance. That means that at Yaddle’s age, their species are already past adulthood and slowly growing older when they’re already almost 500 years old.

There’s also the fact that Yoda said that he started training Jedi at the age of 100 because he mentioned something about training Jedi for 800 years. This implies that he reached adulthood at around 100 years old, considering that adult Jedi Knights around 20 to 30 years old can already train other Jedi.

So, based on what we’ve been given, around 700 to 900 years may be the maximum lifespan of Yoda’s species, depending on certain circumstances. Yoda died of old age at 900, which may be the upward limit of his species’ lifespan. But it is also possible that some of his species died of old age at younger ages and that Yoda was a special case among his people.

The likely reason why Yoda was able to live that long was his affinity with the Force, considering that well-trained Force users tend to have healthier bodies. For example, Palpatine was already more than 60 years old when he assumed the throne of the Empire but was still spry enough to fight the strongest duelist among the Jedi. And let’s not forget that Dooku was still a better duelist at 83 than Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

So, if Yoda’s longevity was the product of his affinity with the Force, the members of his species that aren’t strong in the Force or aren’t as powerful as he is may be unable to live up to 900. Nevertheless, we are only speculating here because the only things we know about Yoda’s species are based on our knowledge of Yoda, Yaddle, and Grogu.