Sidious defeated Yoda on Coruscant, drove him into exile, and spent years telling himself the Jedi were finished. But during their duel, there are moments where Sidious tries to create distance, almost like he’s wary of just how powerful Yoda is. And after the fight, Sidious knows the truth: Yoda is still alive.
So even as the Empire rises and Sidious tightens his grip on the galaxy, there’s still that lingering worry in the background, what happens if Yoda ever returns and faces him again?
Sidious Still Thought About Yoda
In the canon audiobook Star Wars: Stories of Jedi and Sith, in the story “Masters,” we get a really interesting moment from Sidious’ point of view. While Palpatine is waiting for Vader to bring Luke to the second Death Star, basically right around the events of Return of the Jedi, he has a quiet moment where his mind drifts back to one fight he still remembers clearly: his duel with Grand Master Yoda.
Thinking back to Coruscant, Palpatine admits he understood Yoda survived. And for once, Sidious genuinely wanted to finish the job himself, with his own red lightsaber. He even mocks the fact that Yoda’s lightsaber was collected and kept in the Imperial Palace, treated like a trophy.
The story also makes it clear Sidious didn’t just “forget” Yoda after the rise of the Empire. He did try to track him down, even using the Inquisitors. At one point, he even considers using a dark side ritual to search for Yoda through the Force, but he never follows through, because he convinces himself Yoda isn’t a real threat to the Empire anymore.
Still, whenever Palpatine thinks back to that duel, it stirs up something ugly. He’s filled with anger and hatred, and he almost has to repeat the same reasoning to reassure himself, that he already won. As he puts it: “I defeated you. I chased you away and took everything that was yours. The things you stood for are ashes now. You remain. And as long as you do, I keep winning… But the rest of the time, Palpatine prefers to see Yoda again. Just long enough to watch him die.”
For a Brief Moment, Sidious Was Afraid of Seeing Yoda Again
After Yoda disappears in front of Luke, it feels like that’s the last time we’ll ever see him. But it isn’t. Not long after, Yoda becomes one with the Force, and the first person his presence reaches is Sidious.
Suddenly, Sidious senses something shift. For an instant, it feels like Yoda is truly gone, and Sidious realizes Yoda has finally died. But then the feeling changes just as fast. Yoda’s presence returns, only now it isn’t a normal, living presence. It’s everywhere in the Force at once, like it can’t be pinned down or contained. Palpatine can’t help himself. He blurts out: “Impossible!”
And then Yoda appears before him as a Force ghost. The book describes it clearly: “Yoda stands before him, hazy and surrounded by a glow as if lit from within.”
Palpatine tries to do what he always does, talk over it. He boasts about crushing the Rebel Alliance and claims he will take Luke as his new apprentice. But Yoda doesn’t give him the reaction he wants. He simply listens, stands his ground, and answers with one quiet line:
“Win, you cannot.”
And then Yoda vanishes back into the Force.
Sidious’ Real Fear Was Yoda Rebuilding the Jedi Order
Looking at everything in the story above, one thing becomes clear. Sidious can brag about defeating Yoda and ruling the galaxy all he wants, but that isn’t what’s really driving him.
What Sidious truly fears is the possibility that Yoda might return, or at least keep the Jedi alive long enough for them to come back. Because a living Yoda isn’t just a fighter. He’s a symbol, a teacher, and the one person who still knows how the Jedi Order is supposed to be rebuilt from nothing.
That’s why Palpatine’s thoughts keep circling back to Luke. If Luke can be broken and turned, then the Jedi have no future. If Luke can’t be turned, and someone like Yoda is still out there, then the Jedi might rise again in a form the Empire can’t control.
The book even sums up that obsession in one line: “His apprentice will break a final time, and Vader’s son will take his place. There will be no rebirth of the Jedi.”