Yoda failed to stop the Jedi Order from suffering a horrific fate. And during the waning moments in Revenge of the Sith, he believed a self-imposed exile on Dagobah would help him atone his failures. As part of this exile, Yoda never wielded his lightsaber again.
Yoda’s sense of guilt in his failures to save the Jedi eclipsed what we saw in the Skywalker Saga. Because of his guilt, Yoda never wielded a lightsaber again.
His lightsaber wouldn’t make another appearance until The Book of Boba Fett, when Luke Skywalker offered it to Grogu. However, it wasn’t the lightsaber lost in Revenge of the Sith, as fans would later find out.
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Why Did Yoda Stop Using a Lightsaber?
When Yoda went into exile on Dagobah, he did so without creating a new lightsaber.
While residing on the swamp planet, Yoda discovered a herd of animals whose high-quality meat satiated those of his species.
The Star Wars Comic Books provided sound insight on Yoda’s hunting habits. He refused to use a lightsaber because he felt doing so when pursuing food diminished the weapon.
The comics also implied, even had he felt otherwise, he would have used another weapon because he vowed to never carry a lightsaber again.
Yoda also believed his failure to foresee the fall of the Jedi Order sooner helped lead to their near-extinction. And to atone for what he believed was a mistake, he decided he would never use a lightsaber again.
In the comics, Yoda experienced a few mishaps during his hunting journeys. In the trip before Luke Skywalker crash-landed on the planet, he briefly regretted discarding his lightsaber when he fell from a cliff and into a cave and ended up buried under a pile of rocks.
Yoda believed that if he had his lightsaber, he would have easily gotten out of the situation. However, he realized something else: Force-sensitives ultimately don’t need lightsabers since they can wield the Force. The lightsaber was just an extension of their Force-wielding.
He blasted the rocks burying him with the Force, and it was the last lesson he learned before he trained Luke Skywalker.
Did Yoda Lose His Lightsaber in Revenge of the Sith?
During the climactic duel in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious separated Yoda from his lightsaber with Force lightning. Before this moment, Yoda had the upper hand and Sidious, knowing he could not defeat Yoda in a lightsaber duel, turned to using his Force powers.
While some say Yoda ended up losing the duel, he still held Sidious at bay via Tutaminis, allowing him to absorb and reflect the Sith Lord’s Force lightning.
What Happened to Yoda’s Lightsaber?
When Anakin Skywalker betrayed the Jedi Order and joined the Sith, Darth Sidious executed Order 66, killing thousands of Jedi.
Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi survived the attack. After some discussion, Obi-Wan agreed to go after Anakin while Yoda confronted Darth Sidious.
During the duel in the Senate building, Sidious disarmed and forced Yoda to retreat through the ducts and to rendezvous with Bail Organa. Yoda never retrieved his lightsaber, and its ultimate fate was left unknown to the viewer.
Star Wars Canon and Star Wars Legends tell their own version of what ultimately happened to Yoda’s lightsaber.
In Legends, Yoda retrieved the lightsaber and kept it in a case inside his hut on Dagobah.
In Canon, Yoda’s lightsaber remained lost until late 9 ABY when The Book of Boba Fett premiered.
Early in the series, it is revealed that Luke Skywalker landed in possession of the lightsaber and offered it to Grogu as an ultimatum.
If Grogu were to accept the lightsaber, he would pursue his Jedi training. If not, he would pursue the ways of the Mandalorians.
Why Were Fans Upset About the Fate of Yoda’s Lightsaber?
In Star Wars Comics, there was a story called Darth Vader. The primary events of the comic took place just following Revenge of the Sith.
Its main storyline involved Darth Vader pursuing a new lightsaber. And that lightsaber must belong to a former Jedi so Vader could “bleed” its kyber crystal, which would turn the blade red.
Meanwhile, one of the other storylines involved that of the Grand Vizier, Mas Amedda. In one scene, he appeared before a crowd with lightsabers of former Jedi, and Yoda’s lightsaber was one of the thousands Amedda collected.
Amedda and his Stormtroopers tossed the sabers into an incinerator and burned them, destroying the lightsabers, Yoda’s included.
When the lightsaber appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, it angered many fans given the contradictory storyline. Or was it?
Lucasfilm provided an official statement to put the issue to rest. At 900 years old, It was believable to assume Yoda held multiple lightsabers, realizing he could lose one in combat. Something Revenge of the Sith proved true.
So the lightsaber Luke Skywalker presented to Grogu was not the same one Mas Amedda incinerated. Instead, it was a spare that Yoda kept in a box along with ancient Jedi texts.
The explanation also makes sense for fans who entwine Star Wars Canon with Star Wars Legends.
Since Yoda kept his lightsaber in a box in Legends, it’s easy to decipher that Yoda gifted Luke the weapon, which was ultimately offered to Grogu a few years later.
Conclusion
Yoda’s guilt in the Jedi Order’s downfall kept him from wielding a lightsaber again. And while he lost one of his lightsabers, Lucasfilm confirmed he had at least one spare that he kept with him in both Star Wars Legends and Star Wars Canon.
In the comic Darth Vader, Mas Amedda held up and incinerated the lightsaber Yoda lost during Revenge of the Sith, along with those of thousands of other Jedi.
The Book of Boba Fett revealed Luke Skywalker had one of Yoda’s spare lightsabers. And as an ultimatum for undergoing Jedi training, he offered the weapon to Grogu.