Ever since he first showed up in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda has been one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. After training Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi in the original trilogy, Yoda returned in the prequels as the head of the Jedi Council.
Over the course of both trilogies, as both an ultra-powerful Jedi Master at the height of his powers and an aging exiled warrior on his deathbed, Yoda found himself at the center of more than a few iconic moments. So, here are Yoda’s 5 Best Moments From The Original Trilogy (& 5 From The Prequels).
Original: Raiding Luke Skywalker’s Lunchbox
When we first meet Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, he’s not the spiritual warrior we’ve been prepared for. In fact, he initially pretends not to be Yoda; he just pretends he’s a pesky Dagobah local.
While Luke is enjoying his dinner, Yoda goes digging around in his lunchbox and helps himself to all the food that he thinks looks nice.
Prequel: “Nevertheless, Grave Danger, I Fear In His Training.”
Kudos to Yoda for spotting the darkness in Anakin’s soul before anyone else did. After Qui-Gon Jinn picked him up in Tatooine, convinced that he was “the Chosen One,” Yoda refused to allow him to be trained as a Jedi.
Later in the movie, Obi-Wan Kenobi asks if he can train Anakin and Yoda tells him, “The Chosen One, the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave danger, I fear in his training.” However, since it was Qui-Gon’s dying wish that Anakin be trained, Yoda relents and inadvertently dooms the galaxy.
Original: Appearing As A Force Ghost On Endor
While The Rise of Skywalker wasn’t a total disaster, Return of the Jedi is still a much more satisfying conclusion to the Star Wars saga. All the loose ends are tied up.
The Rebels have defeated the Empire, the New Republic is free to rise up and bring democracy back to the galaxy, and Luke is being watched over by the Force ghosts of his three father figures: Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda.
Prequel: Battling Count Dooku
Yoda’s fight with Count Dooku in the climactic sequence of Attack of the Clones is one of the most awesome lightsaber duels in the prequel trilogy. After Dooku managed to incapacitate Anakin and Obi-Wan, Yoda arrived to rain on his parade.
Dooku used the Force to send objects flying at Yoda, but he saved himself from every single one. And then he ignited his lightsaber and showed off all the cool backflips and attack moves that he was too old and frail to demonstrate in the original trilogy.
Original: “No...There Is Another.”
As Luke Skywalker takes off to save his friends, Ben Kenobi’s Force ghost says, “That boy is our last hope.” Illuminated by the red lights on Luke's X-wing, Yoda replies, “No...there is another." He’s referring to Leia.
Leia’s Force abilities wouldn’t make it to the screen until The Last Jedi, when she flew through space in one of the film’s more controversial moments, and The Rise of Skywalker, in which we saw a fun flashback to Luke training her.
Prequel: Deflecting Darth Sidious’ Force Lightning Back At Him
After Chancellor Palpatine assumes absolute power of the Republic and orders the mass execution of the Jedi Order, revealing himself as the Sith Lord that’s been tormenting the Jedi for years, Yoda confronts him in his office.
Palpatine hits Yoda with Force lightning, but Yoda catches it in his hands and deflects it back at the Emperor. The two get into an intense lightsaber duel that takes them into the Galactic Senate Chamber, where they use the Force to throw repulsorpods at each other.
Original: His Death
After freeing his fellow heroes from Jabba’s palace in the opening act of Return of the Jedi, Luke heads to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training with Yoda. However, when he gets there, he finds that his master is dying.
The heartwarming thing about this scene is that, as Yoda climbs into bed and allows himself to become one with the Force after being alive for almost a millennium, he maintains his sense of humor: “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.”
Prequel: Joining The Battle Of Geonosis With The Clone Army
Attack of the Clones’ Battle of Geonosis is one of the most thrilling battle sequences in the Star Wars saga. It’s the set piece involving the most Jedi Knights, and a flurry of lightsaber-waving and blaster fire fills every frame. As the conflict comes to a head, and the Jedi are outnumbered by the Separatists and their armies of battle droids, it seems like the bad guys might win.
And then, at the last second, Yoda triumphantly arrives on the battleground with a cavalry of warships filled with Clone Troopers to save the day. In Yoda’s own words, “Begun, the Clone War has.”
Original: Lifting Luke’s X-Wing Out Of The Swamp
Until Yoda used the Force to lift Luke’s X-wing out of the Dagobah swamp, his immense power was just hearsay. Obi-Wan’s Force ghost had told Luke about how strong Yoda was, but he didn’t see it with his own eyes until now.
The best Star Wars moments fill the audience with a sense of wonder and hope. Yoda lifting Luke’s X-wing with the Force, set to John Williams’ sumptuous score, is a prime example of this.
Prequel: Sensing Order 66 With The Force
When Chancellor Palpatine assumed control of the Republic and turned it into the Empire, his first order of business was to wipe out the Jedi. He told the Clone Army to kill all the Jedi Knights they were protecting.
The only survivors were Obi-Wan, who was shot off a cliff and managed to survive the fall, and Yoda, who used the Force to sense it coming. Right before his Clone Troopers killed him, he jumped up and beheaded them.