We all know that Palpatine never made an effort to find Yoda because he wanted Yoda to witness the galaxy being ruled by the Sith.
Palpatine relished the idea of Yoda watching, just as the Sith had once watched the Jedi from the shadows.
But there’s a more intriguing reason why Palpatine never sent Vader after Yoda.
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The Real Reason Palpatine Never Sent Vader After Yoda
After the chaos of their duel in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine actually thought Yoda might’ve died. The Jedi Master had taken a brutal fall from the Senate pod chamber and disappeared deep into the infrastructure of Coruscant. Palpatine wasn’t sure if Yoda had survived, but he wasn’t taking chances—he immediately ordered his clone troopers to search for the body, even shouting, “Double your search!” in the film.
But that was it. That was the last real effort we ever saw Palpatine make to hunt Yoda down.
Eventually, he must’ve figured it out—Yoda was alive. And yet, even with the creation of the Inquisitors and the Empire’s obsessive campaign to track down surviving Jedi, there was no further attempt to find him. Not even Vader was sent after him.
And there’s a reason for that.
Palpatine knew exactly what Yoda was capable of. During their fight, Yoda hit him with a Force Push so powerful that Palpatine panicked and tried to flee. He’d underestimated the Jedi Master once, and it nearly cost him everything.
By the time Vader was rebuilt and ready to serve, he was a shadow of the warrior he used to be. Missing limbs, constantly in pain, and forced to rely on cybernetics just to function, he was still powerful—but not powerful enough to go one-on-one with Yoda.
Palpatine wasn’t stupid. He didn’t send Vader after Yoda because he knew how that fight would end. Yoda would win.
Sidious Knew Yoda Would Kill Vader
We actually get a clear moment in Star Wars Legends where Palpatine himself confirms just how dangerous Yoda still was, and that Vader wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.
In The Rise of Darth Vader novel, which takes place shortly after Revenge of the Sith, Vader reflects on his failure against Obi-Wan and admits how weak he feels. But Palpatine doesn’t have time for self-pity. He snaps at Vader with brutal honesty, saying:
“No, you weren’t,” he said. “So just imagine what Yoda might have done to you.”
He follows it up by explaining how Obi-Wan succeeded because he came to Mustafar with one clear goal: to kill Vader. Sidious makes it clear, if Yoda had been the one sent instead, Vader would’ve been dead. No question.
The Time Vader Discovered Yoda on Dagobah (Non-Canonical)
You can dive into the story where Vader discovers Yoda on Dagobah in the Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Infinities comic series.
This series is a ‘what if’ scenario, separate from the main Star Wars canon.
In this alternate storyline, Luke doesn’t receive Yoda’s training because he dies on the icy planet of Hoth.
Instead, Princess Leia steps in to fulfill the training. In this version, Vader tracks down Yoda on the remote planet of Dagobah.
However, in a dramatic twist, Vader kills Yoda, but he doesn’t escape unscathed, ultimately sacrificing his life to Han Solo and Leia.
For the full story, check out our article here.