Who Trained Yoda In The Force? A Dead Star Wars Legend Explained

After Disney purchased Lucasfilm, they made the necessary but difficult decision to kill the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe, throwing out decades of stories for a simpler, streamlined canon. With that, the studio effectively removed Yoda's master from the continuity, shrouding the legendary Jedi Grand Master's backstory in even more secrecy.

In "Star Wars" Legends, Jedi Master N'Kata Del Gormo trained Yoda in the ways of the Force, setting the young alien down a path to become one of the greatest Jedi ever. N'Kata Del Gormo was a Hysalrian, a serpent-like race of reptilian aliens with four arms and four eyes. Outside of the pair of quadruple limbs, Hysalrians' upper bodies were relatively humanoid, while their lower halves were massive serpent tails. While N'Kata Del Gormo was their only notable character, being the Jedi who trained Yoda is far from a small feat.

As the legend goes, a young Yoda and his unnamed human friend crashlanded on a mysterious swamp planet, asking N'Kata Del Gormo for help. After spending a few days with the disheveled duo, the Jedi Master offered to take them in as Padawans, recognizing their latent Force sensitivity. Eventually, the Galactic Republic answered Yoda's distress call, taking the young hermit to Coruscant, where he continued his Jedi training, rising to the highest rank possible: Jedi Grand Master.

While all records of Jedi Master N'Kata Del Gormo's existence were lost during Emperor Palpatine's Great Jedi Purge, there's a similar lack of evidence surrounding Yoda's new canonical master, making it a mysterious aspect of "Star Wars" lore.

In the current "Star Wars" canon, Yoda's master was an unknown member of the Jedi Order, with little to no information specifying anything about the mysterious Jedi. "Master & Apprentice" by Claudia Gray reveals they took Yoda on as a Padawan when the alien was young. However, given his species' long lifespan, this happened hundreds of years before the Empire usurped the Galactic Republic.

Interestingly, the only source of information regarding Yoda's master comes from "The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?" This is a junior novel retelling the film's events. In the book, Yoda recounts a story his master once told him about Jedi K'ungfu and Chuang. The tale taught Yoda how to live in peace, as Jedi Master K'ungfu sees Chuang enjoying his life after the death of his Padawan, showing that death isn't the end but the start of becoming something new within the Force. Yoda tells Luke this story as part of the latter's Jedi training on Dagobah.

Outside of that, there's not much information regarding Yoda's canonical Jedi Master. In an interview with Nerdist, Dave Filoni recalled, "Frank Oz told me once that Yoda speaks that way specifically in honor of his own master," but "Star Wars" has yet to officially confirm this.