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Star Wars finally reveals how Rey would change the Jedi Order. When George Lucas stepped back in time with the prequels, he revealed just how flawed the Jedi really were. The Jedi of the prequels were bound by tradition, intertwined with politics, and blind to the Force’s guidance. Despite this, for many viewers, the prequels came to define what the Jedi really mean. That, perhaps, is why Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Order (in canon, at least) takes so many notes from them.
But would Rey do the same? I had the privilege of attending Star Wars Celebration 2023, and I remember the reaction when Daisy Risley walked on-stage. The future seemed bright with promise, with the potential of a Jedi reinvention. But, three years later, Rey’s New Jedi Order movie seems to be as far away as ever. The latest rumors suggest Star Wars: Starfighter will finally unveil Rey’s Jedi Order, though… and now, excitingly, Star Wars has officially given us Rey’s first word on how she’d change the Jedi.
Star Wars: Legacy Discusses Rey’s Idea of the Jedi
Madeleine Roux’s excellent novel Star Wars: Legacy is set in the year between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. On sale now from retailers like Amazon, the book is a powerful character study; it’s centered on the flailing master-apprentice relationship between Leia and Rey. The two travel to the legendary Jedi planet Tython, where they learn secrets of the ancient Jedi, discovering holocrons that take them back 5,000 years in galactic history. Rey has a unique perspective on the Jedi; she’s familiar with their history and heritage through holocrons and sacred texts, but has only a little formal training.
In Legacy, Rey and Leia discover a holocron that reveals how a Sith slaughtered Jedi on Tython 5,000 years ago. The Jedi did their best to redeem this Sith, but it led to tragedy; as Leia reflects, remembering Darth Vader’s example, redemption is rarer than Rey perhaps hopes. Still, this leads Rey to reflect on why the Jedi failed. She offers her own critique of the Jedi Order:
“The more I learn about the Jedi, the more I… I don’t know, the more I want to change things… Sitting high up in this mountain with trials and riddles. Master Luke’s temple burning down. People giving away their children just because they could use the Force. It doesn’t work, does it? I would have lost my parents either way. The Jedi would have taken me, separated us, and that loss never goes away. It could be different. Not a temple hidden in the mountains, not the Jedi and everyone else…”
Rey’s vision is clearly of Jedi communities scattered across the galaxy, mixing with citizens rather than separate from them. “Jedi were taught to let go of all attachments,” she reflects, “but everyone needs something to fight for, and more than just ideas, people.” It’s a searing critique of the Jedi; by separating themselves from the galaxy, the Order forgot to care for those it was supposed to defend.
Rey’s Critique of the Jedi Explains Why the Order Fell
Rey only has a limited window on Jedi history, but she’s right. In fact, her vision of the Jedi is a little more akin to one we saw in the High Republic Era, the golden age of the Jedi and the Republic. This was a time when the Jedi spread across the galaxy; because hyperspace travel was more difficult, the Jedi established temples all over the galaxy, often in the midst of local populations. Tragically, over the centuries, the Jedi became more insular and withdrawn; the last of these High Republic temples closed just a year before The Phantom Menace.
By the prequel era, the Jedi had become distanced from the galaxy. They no longer understood how ordinary people lived, because they seldom interacted with them. Worse still, the public forgot what Jedi were like, simply because so few ordinary people ever met them. That’s why Palpatine was able to scapegoat the Jedi, blaming them for the Clone Wars and so many of the galaxy’s problems. Had the Jedi been better-connected with the public, people would have been reluctant to turn on them; it would have meant attacking their neighbors, their friends.
Will Star Wars: Starfighter Reveal This Kind of Jedi Order?
According to the latest rumors, Star Wars: Starfighter will take viewers to a new Jedi outpost on the planet Adaria. It’s described as a “green and lush, East Asian-inspired” planet that is “full of greenery and fountains,” “tiki-style huts,” with hints of technology (such as landing pads for ships). It’s also reported that Jedi at the sanctuary seem to mostly be padawans in training, based on the fact that their costumes are “beige Jedi-style tunics, similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Anakin at the end of The Phantom Menace.” It seems we have a new Jedi community.
But is this the kind of community Rey envisioned in Legacy, one where Jedi are trained in among the people? That certainly seems to be what Star Wars is setting up in Legacy, and it would be thrilling to see the Order regain its connection with ordinary citizens. Only time – and next year’s movie – will tell whether Rey has indeed succeeded in reinventing the Jedi Order after all.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the Forum!
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