The Star Wars prequel-era Jedi Order infamously forbade marriage among Jedi, but George Lucas himself allowed one Jedi to break this rule in Legends. From 1977 to 2014, the Star Wars franchise’s Expanded Universe, comprised of material outside the main six saga films, was the official Star Wars canon. In 2014, the Expanded Universe was renamed Legends and made an alternate timeline, but it continues to inspire and influence the new canon. There is, however, one interesting crossover between these timelines that has mainly to do with the rules of the Jedi Order itself.
In both canon and Legends, the Jedi Order forbade marriage for much of its history. In the new canon, the High Republic-era Jedi may have been allowed to form romantic relationships and marry, but this fell out of practice sometime before the prequels. In Legends, Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order not only allowed marriage, but also encouraged such healthy attachments. The Legends-era Jedi Order that preceded Luke’s generation, however, only permitted marriage before the Great Sith War. For most of its history, the Order only allowed marriage under specific circumstances, with George Lucas himself approving one such exception for a notable prequel-era Jedi.
George Lucas Forbade Jedi Relationships – But Approved Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Wives
Lucasfilm executives have recently confirmed that George Lucas allowed Legends-era creators to depict Ki-Adi-Mundi as being in a polygamous marriage, despite the rules of the Jedi Order. Lucas often vetoed certain ideas while suggesting others for Legends-era materials. For instance, Lucas was the one who wished for Palpatine to return from the dead in Star Wars: Dark Empire, and Coruscant’s depiction in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy was used in the Return of the Jedi special edition instead of its original Had Abaddon concept. Even Aayla Secura, who originated in the Star Wars: Republic comics, was brought into the prequel trilogy. Lucas’s approval of Ki-Adi-Mundi’s marriages reinforces the truth that Legends was the official canon before 2014, with Lucas signing off on elements and sometimes incorporating them into the movies themselves.
Why Ki-Adi-Mundi Had Wives In Star Wars Legends
In-universe, the reason why Ki-Adi-Mundi was exempt from the Jedi Order’s rule against marriage is that it was necessary for his species to survive. Ki-Adi-Mundi is a Cerean, a species whose male birth rate is extremely low, necessitating that male Cereans have polygamous marriages. For this, the Jedi Order permitted Ki-Adi-Mundi to not only be married to five wives, but also have many children, though he was not allowed to become attached to any of his family members.
Ki-Adi-Mundi notably struggled to avoid becoming attached to his Cerean family members, but he nevertheless adhered to the old Jedi Order’s code. Tragically, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s careful work to both keep his species alive and avoid becoming attached to his family were all futile. In the first year of the Clone Wars in Legends, the CIS invaded Cerea and while the Republic, whose forces were led by Ki-Adi-Mundi himself, won the battle, it came at the cost of a million Cereans. The CIS killed the entire Mundi family, save for Ki-Adi-Mundi himself. Thus, Lucas’ exception to the forbidden marriage rule of the Jedi Order in Star Wars came at a terrible cost for Ki-Adi-Mundi.
