One Star Wars theory posits that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker secretly set up the Jedi’s true origin, and this origin may forever change the franchise’s understanding of the Force and the Jedi’s beliefs. Though Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is commonly understood to be one of the franchise’s most divisive films, certain aspects of it have affected Star Wars’ ongoing storytelling to a great extent. Emperor Palpatine’s resurrection, for instance, has been explored more thoroughly in shows like The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. More importantly, however, The Rise of Skywalker explores what it means to be connected with the Force.

Balance in the Force has always been a heavily debated topic. Star Wars creator George Lucas believed that true balance in the Force meant that the dark side needed to be eradicated – he described it as a cancer within the Force. Other Star Wars stories, like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The High Republic, and more have suggested that true balance in the Force means accepting that the dark side is a natural part of it – one cannot exist without the other. This philosophy became a focal point in The Rise of Skywalker when it introduced a vital piece of lore: the Force Dyad.

The Rise Of Skywalker’s Force Dyad Deserves More Exploration

One of the most interesting aspects of the Star Wars sequel trilogy has always been the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren. Their connection through the Force and the potential of their shared power is the heart of the sequel trilogy’s story. Though Star Wars: The Last Jedi touched upon their unique ability to communicate within the Force, it wasn’t until The Rise of Skywalker that the ability was given a name. The Force Dyad was an entirely new but undeniably exciting concept.

Essentially, a Dyad in the Force means that two people, who together create an equal balance between light and dark, are connected through the Force, and that connection is the will of the Force itself. In Charles Soule’s Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren comic miniseries, it is implied that Kylo Ren didn’t necessarily turn to the dark side but rather became trapped within it and that the Force gave him an “out,” of sorts, by creating that connection with Rey.

Sadly, Star Wars hasn’t revealed much more about the Force Dyad than that. Since the full concept was only introduced in The Rise of Skywalker, and Ben Solo sacrifices his life to resurrect Rey at the end of the film – proving that the power of the Dyad may indeed be greater than the power of life itself – there is still so much the franchise hasn’t revealed about this monumental part of Star Wars lore. One upcoming movie, however, may be able to make sense of this incredibly rare phenomenon and provide more historical context for it.

Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi Will Depict The Origins Of The Force And The Jedi

One upcoming Star Wars movie, James Mangold’s Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, is set 25,000 years before the events of the Skywalker saga and will likely explore those who first discovered the Force and laid the groundwork for the Jedi religion. This is unprecedented – one of the biggest drivers behind Star Wars storytelling is the elusive nature of the Force. Whose interpretation is correct? Did the Jedi and the Sith both fail to understand the real power of the Force and how it’s meant to be used? Mangold’s film will answer so many questions, many of which were raised by Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The Last Jedi teased the story of the first Jedi. On Ahch-To, which is said to be the site of the first Jedi Temple, a mosaic exists in a cave that depicts a figure known as the Prime Jedi. Bathed equally in the light side and the dark, the Prime Jedi was likely responsible for the earliest Jedi texts and the basis of the Jedi Code, which continued to govern the Jedi Order for millennia. Much more than that isn’t currently known about the Prime Jedi, however, but Dawn of the Jedi can certainly shed more light.

What If The Prime Jedi Is Actually A Force Dyad?

Given that the illustration of the Prime Jedi is equally steeped in both the light side and the dark, it’s possible, even plausible, that the Prime Jedi wasn’t just one single figure. A Force Dyad cannot exist without both the power of the light side and the dark – perhaps the mural doesn’t depict one person, but two people connected as one within the Force, representing that perfect balance. Not only would this finally confirm that the dark side is indeed a natural part of the Force, but it would also be an interesting way of depicting how the presence of the Force was first discovered.

A Dyad in the Force is more than just a connection between two people. The Force has willed them together. The earliest Jedi may have embraced both the dark side and the light and discovered the power of the Force, together. This would be an interesting parallel to Rey and Kylo’s stories thousands of years later, especially since Rey only began to discover her potential once she came into close contact with Kylo Ren. What if that’s what happened to the earliest Force-users, too? What if they discovered the power of the Force by being drawn to one another?

Kylo Ren and Rey’s connection in the sequel trilogy was unlike anything seen before in Star Wars – perhaps if they had been given the time to explore that connection, it would have morphed into something so potent, so unbreakable, they would have felt like one being. This would explain why the mural only depicts one figure. Including a Force Dyad in Dawn of the Jedi would create an interesting parallel to Rey and Kylo’s stories thousands of years later and go a long way to explaining how the Force was first interpreted by its earliest wielders.

Though the mysterious nature of the Force is the driving force behind much of Star Wars storytelling, it will be interesting to see how the first Jedi’s texts and teachings – whether they were created by one Force-user or two – were interpreted by those who came after them, and how those differing interpretations affected how future Jedi and other Force-wielders worked with and within the Force. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have had its issues, but it’s hard to deny that the Force Dyad is one of the most interesting pieces of modern Star Wars lore.

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