The 25 most influential Star Wars characters

4. Yoda

There is absolutely no way that you make a list of influential Star Wars characters without including Yoda. Not too long after training Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda fell ill and died on Dagobah. But just before he does, he confirms that Darth Vader is indeed Luke’s father. He leaves a lasting impact on Luke, and on the fans, who imitate his backwards-talking syntax to this day.

Even after he’s gone, Yoda still appears every now and then. He learns how to become a Force spirit, and we see him with Luke again in both Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi. We also hear him in The Force Awakens with Rey stumbles upon a lightsaber and has a vision.

Yoda taught young Jedi for over 800 years, so his influence goes way beyond Luke Skywalker; he’s touched thousands of lives. Yoda wasn’t able to keep Anakin on the side of the Jedi, but he was able to train many others, including Luke and Ahsoka, who have remained loyal to the rebellion over the years.

While Yoda’s speech patterns may take some getting used to, once you get past the awkwardness, you understand just how much wisdom he holds. He’s seen more than pretty much anyone in the galaxy, so of course he’s going to have special insight into the way of things. While he was a firm believer in Jedi tradition, he understood how things were constantly changing, especially when the Empire around arose. He spread his wisdom to as many people as he could and continued to do so even after death.