This Star Wars Character Is the Closest to a ‘Gray Jedi’ That We Will Ever Get (& Its Not Who Fans Think)

While the second and final season of Andor doesn’t include any prominent Force users, Luthen Rael is the closest to a canon “Gray Jedi” that Star Wars fans will ever get. Some viewers have pointed to Cassian Andor as this kind of character, but throughout the series he’s less morally ambiguous than the man who brought him into the rebellion. Typically, the heroes in this universe adhere to a certain moral archetype, which is what makes Luthen so unique. During the first season of Andor, the fans of Star Wars speculated that Luthen Rael might have been a Jedi. His origins are simpler than that, but the life he chose for himself is deeply complex and dangerous.

Living on Coruscant as a dealer of antiquities, Luthen dresses up in a wig, fancy clothes and his phony smile becomes a mask. This is all a cover so he can travel around the galaxy fomenting rebellion, cultivating rebel cells, arming and supplying them. Despite his importance to the cause, his methods drew rebukes from everyone, including Mon Mothma (who financed his efforts) and Cassian. While Andor doesn’t delve into this aspect of Star Wars philosophy, it doesn’t mean both the Cosmic and Living Force aren’t affecting the characters and their actions. Luthen Rael is the morally ambiguous hero fans seem to want when they talk about Gray Jedi. Because this concept is canonically flawed, he’s also the closest they’ll ever get to seeing one outside of Legends and fanfiction.

The Entire Concept of ‘Gray Jedi’ Stems from a Misunderstanding of Balance in the Force

George Lucas Did Not Think Any Amount of ‘Dark Side’ Influence Was ‘Good’

The reason so many fan theories involve Gray Jedi stems from a misunderstanding of both Force alignment and the politics of various practitioners. In the Star Wars Legends stories (which were never canon, even before Disney purchased Lucasfilm), several Force users reject the rules and tenets of the Jedi and Sith Orders. Fans conflate their rules with Light Side and Dark Side alignment. People point to Qui-Gon Jinn as a Gray Jedi in canon because he doesn’t follow the Order’s rules or the Council’s commands. Yet if there’s any “grayness” at play here, it’s in those rules.

“The core of the Force, you’ve got the Dark Side and the Light Side. One is selfless, one is selfish, and you want to keep them in balance. What happens when you go to the Dark Side is [the Force] goes out of balance,” George Lucas in 2007.

One of the greatest Star Wars novels in the new canon, Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray (Palpatine voice: ironic) dispels the notion that Qui-Gon dabbles in the Dark Side. He says, “I turn toward the light…because it is the light.” The Jedi Order in the prequels veered away from the will of the Living Force because they clung to dogma. Yoda told Luke the Dark Side is not “stronger,” it’s just quicker and easier to master. This is because Dark Side users bend the Force to their selfish desires. The Light Side manifests through selflessness, which includes choices that make life more difficult, such as capturing an enemy instead of killing them.

Even in the Star Wars stories, what’s said about the Force isn’t law, whether it’s a Jedi Master or the Mortis Gods saying it. After all, both Obi-Wan and Yoda believed that Darth Vader could not turn away from the Dark Side back to the Light. Luke Skywalker proved them wrong. The only person who truly knows the rules of the Force is George Lucas, who says Gray Jedi can’t exist. However, when a Star Wars hero isn’t a Jedi or a person attuned to the Force, there is room for that kind of moral ambiguity.

Luthen Rael Isn’t a Jedi, but His Character Has a Very ‘Gray’ Morality

The Andor Character Knows He’s Not a Hero, but He’s Also Not a Villain

Force philosophy doesn’t entirely exist in Andor, if only because the characters don’t really know about it. Luthen’s objection to the Empire has nothing to do with the Sith. Rather, he chooses the life of a rebel because he knows their oppressive tyranny is wrong. In the first season, the missions he sends Cassian, Vel, Cinta and others on make things worse before they get better. He understands a key theme in Star Wars, specifically that no institution or military power can defeat the Empire. If Palpatine is to be defeated, the people of the galaxy need to reject Imperial control en masse. They won’t do that unless the Empire forces them to.

• Following the Light Side of the Force is as simple as making a choice to be selfless and preserve life.
• As Yoda told Anakin: fear, anger and hate are pathways to the Dark Side that lead to suffering.

If there is any kind of code or manifesto for Gray Jedi, it’s Luthen’s speech to his ISB contact in Andor Season 1. He is selfless. He sacrifices every chance he has at a normal life for a “sunrise I will never see.” He believes the rebellion can defeat the Empire, he just doesn’t believe he’ll live to see it. This kind of selfless service is a hallmark of the Light Side. Only, he also admits that he’s “damned” because he uses “the tools of [his] enemy to defeat them.”

He has made his “mind a sunless space” and given up “calm, kindness, kinship” and any “chance at inner peace.” He admits to being driven by “anger, ego…eagerness to fight,” all of which are hallmarks of the Dark Side. Throughout Season 1, Andor showed the Empire’s “mundane” evil, which inspires citizens to keep their heads down rather than stand up and rebel. Luthen’s mission was to force the Empire to be more directly tyrannical.

This continues in Season 2, when he encourages the Ghorman rebellion even though he knew they couldn’t win. When he tells Cassian the fire the Empire starts there “burn very brightly,” he knows he’s condemning the Ghorman people to inspire a larger rebellion. Similarly, he’ll murder poor schmoes like Tay Kolma rather than risk him spilling his or Mon Mothma’s secrets. His mission serves the greater good, but he’ll dabble in lesser evil to complete it.

The Force Is Already Out of Balance, So It’s Possible Luthen Rael Is, Too

Dark Side Influence May Be Something Beyond His (or Anyone’s) Control

While Luthen Rael is the kind of character fans expect Gray Jedi to be, it may not be his fault. The Force works through and affects people without their knowledge, and its will pushes the galaxy towards balance. The seduction of Anakin Skywalker by Palpatine to the Dark Side served this goal. If the Sith had killed the “Chosen One,” the Force would have corrected this by empowering someone else to bring balance. By turning Anakin to the Dark Side, Palpatine threw the Force further out of balance.

In The Clone Wars series finale, Maul even says “the Dark Side has never been stronger” just before the fall of the Republic and Jedi. Also, in The Clone Wars, one theory suggests Anakin replaced the Father of Mortis in order to keep the Dark Side — embodied by the “Son” — in check. This means that during the “dark times” of the Empire, the Force itself is weighed down by darkness. So, even though Luthen Rael “yearned to be a savior against injustice,” he found himself forced to do unjust things.

While this might be the result of his own choices, it might also be the influence of the Cosmic or Living Force corrupted by Sith Rule. The idea of Gray Jedi suggests they dabble in the Dark Side to achieve their goals. While Luthen does this in his own way, he may have been helpless to avoid it. It wasn’t until Luke Skywalker chose to be a hero that the galaxy found hope again. His commitment to becoming a Jedi, and his sister Leia Organa’s tireless (but moral) efforts toward the rebellion shifted the Force back towards balance.

Luthen, unfortunately, didn’t have the same options they did. He operated from a place of disadvantage, and his efforts — moral or otherwise — laid the path the Skywalker twins walked towards victory. The rules George Lucas established for the Force mean no Gray Jedi can exist in Star Wars canon. Yet fans who wished they would show up in the modern stories can find everything they want in Luthen Rael’s character.

The final trio of Andor episodes debuts on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 9 PM on Disney+.