When it comes to Star Wars fan-favourite characters, one character that always makes the list is Yoda. The renowned Jedi Grandmaster who made his debut in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is arguably one of the most powerful Force-users of the Star Wars universe. During his lifetime, he was responsible for training hundreds of gifted Jedi, including famous fan-favourites like Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Ahsoka Tano, Kit Fisto, Luke Skywalker, Count Dooku, and Ki Adi Mundi.
Master Yoda was quite the duelist, and he famously wielded a green-bladed shoto lightsaber whose design was uniquely suited to the Jedi Master’s small stature. Despite his formidable skills as a duelist, Yoda rarely ever used his lightsaber as he preferred to resolve conflict in more subtle ways. There were, however, rare occasions where the Jedi Master did use his lightsaber, like in Clone Wars when he faced off with his former protégé, Count Dooku, or in the Battle of Coruscant when he fought Darth Sidious.
Yoda’s face-off with Darth Sidious in the Revenge of the Sith led to him losing his lightsaber, and no further information was revealed about the fate of the Jedi Master’s green blade until Luke Skywalker showed up with it in episode 6 of the Book of Boba Fett.
So, we are now left with the big question – what really happened to Yoda’s green lightsaber? And how did Luke Skywalker come to be in possession of the weapon? Read on to find out.
What Happened to Yoda’s Lightsaber?
During the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi Grandmaster Yoda had an epic duel with Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) in the Grand Convocation Chambers of the Senate. During this duel, Yoda gets his lightsaber knocked out of his hand while trying to deflect the Force lightning that Palpatine blasted at him. After plummeting to the floor, Yoda had to flee for his life, leaving his lightsaber behind.
The weapon’s fate was eventually revealed in the 2017 Darth Vader #1 comic by Charles Soues, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and David Curiel. The book details how, after the events of Order 66, Mas Amedda (Grand Vizier to Palpatine) held a public gathering on Coruscant, where he disparaged the Jedi Order and referred to them as villains and oppressors to the gathered citizens.
He also gathered all the lightsabers of the Jedi who fell during Order 66 and burned them as a way of celebrating the newfound freedom from the Jedi Order. Among the burning weapons was the Yoda lightsaber. As the lightsabers burned, the kyber crystals inside them caused a large explosion of energy, and the weapons were forever lost.
How Did Luke Skywalker Come to Be with Yoda’s Lightsaber?
When Yoda began training Young Jedi, Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, he didn’t have his lightsaber, which confirms that his weapon was indeed destroyed in the Revenge of the Sith.
However, the Book of Boba Fett shows Luke gifting Grogu (Baby Yoda) a lightsaber that looks very much like the Grandmaster’s weapon. This unexpected gift obviously raised the question of how Luke came to be in possession of Yoda’s lightsaber if the weapon was already destroyed on Coruscant.
Well, according to the book, Star Wars: The Complete Locations, Yoda did, in fact, have a second lightsaber, which he hid in his hut on Dagobah. The working theory is that he built this second lightsaber after he lost his first one on Coruscant; however, he didn’t use it. After the Jedi Master died in 4 ABY, Luke (his last Jedi apprentice) went through his belongings, found the hidden saber, and took possession of it. This explanation is backed up by the Star Wars canon.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Yoda is one of the most remarkable and beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. The Jedi Grandmaster was a formidable duelist, and his green-bladed shoto lightsaber was a weapon that served him well until it was lost on Coruscant. Following this loss, Yoda does build another lightsaber, which he kept in Dagobah until his death. This second lightsaber is the weapon that Luke Skywalker presents to Grogu in the Book of Boba Fett.