Disney The Mandalorian
With The Mandalorian now airing on Disney Plus, fans may need a refresher on certain characters, including Yoda and his species. This is a look at what we know about Yoda’s species and what’s been revealed so far.
WARNING: This story will have MAJOR spoilers for the first episode of The Mandalorian. So only read on if you have seen the episode or are OK being spoiled.
Yoda’s Species Is Very Mysterious
Spoilers for the ending of the first episode are below.
Yoda is a powerful Jedi master whose race has never been discussed and is still one of the biggest mysteries in the Star Wars universe. They’re supposedly very rare, their true name was never recorded in official Star Wars lore, and many have a strong connection to the Force. The name of their homeworld also isn’t known.
That’s why the idea of a baby Yoda is so intriguing.
In fact, Lucasfilm once discouraged licensees from even exploring the Yoda species, Star Wars Fandom noted, and removed lines about the species from Revenge of the Sith. A line of trading cards was also canceled because it included a figure that looked like Yoda leading a prayer.
It’s a big deal that we might be learning more.
We know that Yodas’ species can live a long time and ages slowly. Yoda has said that he trained Jedi for more than 800 years. He was about 900 when he died in Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars Fandom notes that Yoda’s species resembles the Lannik species and Yoda has, in fact, been mistaken for that species. It’s not known if they’re related, however it’s not likely that they are.
It’s not clear if Baby Yoda is related to the Yoda or not. This series takes place about five years after Return of the Jedi. Set in that timeline, Yoda was certainly alive and old enough to have had a baby who was 50 years old at the time of The Mandalorian.
But considering Yoda’s comments about staying free of emotional attachments and the Jedi Order’s overall distaste with the idea of Jedi having romantic relationships, it seems likely that the baby is simply a member of the same species. We’ve also seen Yaddle on-screen, which has led to quite a few fans surmising about a Yaddle-Yoda baby. But so far, there’s no evidence of that.
Stars Wars Fandom notes that other known members of Yoda’s species include Vandar Tokare (on the Jedi Council of Dantooine) and Oteg, who served in the Cold War. There’s also Minch, who served the Jedi Order in 700 BBY.
More interesting, however, is the idea that this baby Yoda might have a special connection to the Force, just like Yoda does. Many members of his species are connected to the Force. If this baby is too, maybe that’s why the secretive Imperial leader wants the baby dead (and why Dr. Pershing wants to study the baby.) The Empire just fell five years ago and some people are still trying to hold onto their power. The mysterious Imperial leader with his old stormtroopers is obviously one of them. Either he wants to destroy any threat to the possibility of his rising to power again, or he wants to harness that power for himself.
Another interesting point is that Baby Yoda is 50 years old, which puts him being born in the same year as Anakin. What this means is unclear, but some fans think this could mean that the baby will have his own way of bringing some kind of balance to the Force. But since the baby’s growing much more slowly than humans, maybe that role will come into play later, perhaps even hundreds of years in the future.
READ NEXT: ’The Mandalorian’ Episode 1: Review & Recap