Yaddle: The Star Wars Character, Meme, And Legend Explained
Yaddle has always been a bit of a joke in "Star Wars." She is a character that was literally only created as a sketch for a young Yoda before being put in "The Phantom Menace" as a separate character. What's more, Yaddle is completely silent, only appearing in the background — and only speaking in a scene that got cut from the finished film. This is a shame since Yaddle has so much potential, being essentially Yoda with way better hair (really, look at that pompadour!), especially when, in "The Phantom Menace" where Yoda somehow looks uglier and older than he looked in "Empire Strikes Back."
And yet, the very existence of another member of Yoda's species has always been fascinating to "Star Wars" fans, with the expanded universe introducing many characters of the same species that never made it to the canon, from the comics to video games like "Knights of the Old Republic." That being said, all of this changed when we got what is only the third member of the species in the "Star Wars" canon — Grogu.
Given Grogu is not likely to talk or act like anything other than cuteness incarnate anytime soon, we're left with only Yaddle to try and unravel the mystery of their species. Sadly, she isn't much help because her only canonical appearances have been in the anthology cartoon "Tales of the Jedi," and in the High Republic comics.
We don't know much about Yaddle's life before becoming a Jedi Master, but we know that she was a Master during the time of the High Republic and participated in a number of important battles during that time, earning a reputation as a formidable Jedi. Unfortunately, there is a reason she only appears in one movie.
The tragedy of Yaddle
Taking place shortly before the events of the first of the prequels, "Tales of the Jedi" gave us the very first time Yaddle spoke on screen (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard). To everyone's surprise, her syntax was normal, unlike Yoda. This made it clear either Yoda is the weird one, or he is a massive troll who confuses people for no reason.
More importantly, that show also presented the fate of Yaddle after the events of "The Phantom Menace." Suspicious about the change in behavior of Master Dooku, Yaddle discovers the Jedi in cahoots with none other than Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. The future Emperor immediately orders Dooku to kill his colleague, and after a quick but cool duel, he does. Unfortunately, that leaves Yaddle a pivotal but tragic figure in the prequel story, as the last step in Dooku becoming a Sith.
After "The Phantom Menace," Yaddle was replaced by Shaak Ti on the council. The next time in canon that we'd hear about Master Yaddle is in the game "Jedi: Fallen Order" (which is part of the best era of Star Wars that has exploded in popularity the past few years), where protagonist Cal Kestis mentions that his master was Yaddle's apprentice. Yaddle may be just a female version of Yoda to some, but she has much more to offer to the "Star Wars" universe, as a warrior and a Jedi Master.