Star Wars: New Jedi Order will see Rey Skywalker establish a new Jedi Order, and one key aspect of her past may have a massive influence on the Jedi’s future. The prequel trilogy’s Jedi Order made several mistakes that contributed to its downfall, and, given that Luke’s Jedi Temple on Ossus also fell, Rey must address the issues of the Jedi before her. While her training with Luke and Leia will guide her, as will the sacred Jedi texts, Rey’s complex origins may also inform the updates she makes to Jedi traditions.
Rey’s new movie is set 15 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which included, among other twists, the reveal that Rey was a descendant of Emperor Palpatine. While her lineage connecting her to Star Wars’ most powerful Sith will certainly cause complications, Rey represents a non-traditional Jedi in myriad ways, which could spell out a complete overhaul of the Jedi Order from the prequels. For Rey, one aspect of her background in particular may impact the choices she makes for her new Jedi Order.
Star Wars: New Jedi Order – Cast, Story, Timeline & Everything We Know
Rey’s Star Wars return is happening in Star Wars: New Jedi Order. Here’s what is known about the story, cast, and release of Daisy Ridley’s film.
The Jedi Practice Of Taking Young Children Was Ambiguous At Best
Jedi Initiates, the first in the Jedi Order’s ranks, are brought to the Jedi Temple when they are toddlers. While the Jedi Order had permission from the Force-sensitive children’s parents, this means that the children themselves could not agree to commit their lives to the Jedi way, which is a moral quandary in and of itself. Even with the parents’ permission, though, the system was flawed.
In a 1999 comic, Star Wars Tales #13, “Children of the Force,” one of the Star Wars stories showing the Jedi Order’s flaws, Jedi Master Mace Windu discovers that a bounty hunter has been hired by an Initiate’s parents who want their child back. This surprises Windu, who can only imagine inclusion in the Order being an honor. Windu ultimately agrees to return the child, suggesting that he accepts that the system of removing Force-sensitive children from their parents can be flawed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi has a similar realization in the wake of Order 66 after discovering that even the younglings had been killed in the massacre. In the Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, Obi-Wan laments:
“We took them from their homes.” Obi-Wan fought to stay in his chair; the pain inside him demanded motion. It became wave after wave of tremors. “We promised their families
.”
This is a fascinating moment for Obi-Wan who, until that point, had been nothing but a devout Jedi Master. While Master Yoda pushes back on this moment of doubt, reminding Obi-Wan that he is still a Jedi, Obi-Wan’s empathy and pain in this situation are crucial; in this quote, Obi-Wan reveals that this ancient Jedi practice truly was not unimpeachable.
Purchase Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith Novelization on Amazon
Rey’s Past Would Make Her Hesitant To Continue This Jedi Practice
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey experiences a flashback that shows the moment her parents left her on Jakku. In the scene, she screams “Come back” repeatedly. While this alone represents the trauma, her trajectory throughout the sequel movies shows that she never recovered from this moment. As Kylo Ren points out in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey never stopped looking for her parents; hoping they would come back for her made her hesitant to ever leave Jakku.
This history may make Rey extremely resistant to separating toddlers from their parents in her new Order, if not make her outright refuse to maintain this practice. Rey knows how painful this separation can be, and, given that Rey can completely rebuild the Jedi, she would have every opportunity to cast this tradition aside. Particularly because her own master/apprentice lineage consisted of (and seemingly will continue to consist of, with Finn) adult Padawans, this could mean the traditional practice ends.
Choosing Not To Take Force-Sensitive Younglings Would Completely Change The Jedi
If Rey decided to change this practice, it would completely change the Jedi Order, and it might be for the better. There were significant issues with this practice even beyond Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s revelations. A prime example of the issue is Anakin Skywalker’s turn toward the dark side of the Force. Although Anakin had many factors influencing his fall to Darth Vader, a major catalyst for his pull to the dark was the loss of his mother, which began with his removal from her in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
Even generations later, Kylo Ren felt the sting of (perceived) rejection by his parents when they sent him to train with his uncle, Luke Skywalker, at his Jedi Temple. While these are unique cases, in that both left their families when they were closer to pre-teen age than toddlerhood, their stories represent the pain of separation from one’s parents that comes into play with this ancient Jedi practice. For Rey, that pain would certainly resonate given her own history.
This could mean that Rey’s Jedi Order would consist of adult Padawan learners rather than children. This would also connect to Luke and Leia demonstrating that family connections or attachments do not have to be negative; in Rey’s new Order, the adult learners would come, presumably, having been raised by their family. If that was the case, New Jedi Order could reform the most foundational structure of the Jedi Order, truly bringing about a new era.
Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Director
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
- Cast
- Daisy Ridley
- Writers
- Steven Knight
- Studio(s)
- Lucasfilm
- Distributor(s)
- Disney
- Franchise(s)
- Star Wars
