The Star Wars franchise nearly included an animated series based on the Young Jedi Knights book series, and though the show was never made, its basic premise could be revived for a modern Luke Skywalker television show. The Star Wars Expanded Universe (now known as Legends) experienced a renaissance throughout the 90s, enriching the lore of the films and telling new stories set after Return of the Jedi. A plethora of comics, video games, and novels kept Star Wars fans invested in the franchise before the prequel trilogy was released and the proposed Young Jedi Knights animated series could have easily changed its trajectory by making a mainstream EU adaptation. With Luke Skywalker’s fledgling Jedi Academy in the canon timeline being tased in the sequel trilogy and current Disney+ shows, Young Jedi Knights could easily provide a blueprint for a successful show.
In the Legends continuity, Luke Skywalker truly adhered to Yoda’s Return of the Jedi advice and passed on what he had learned as an aspiring Jedi. Luke’s character arc in the original trilogy includes, among other things, that the advice and the philosophies of his mentors, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, are not always correct and some conflicts are best won by going against the old Jedi ways. Luke redeemed his father and defeated The Emperor by using his attachments and emotions—primarily to his friends and to the good he sensed in his father—and this philosophy would carry over into his New Jedi Order in Legends, which was a far healthier environment for aspiring Jedi than its predecessor. In the current canon, Luke unfortunately backtracks and replicates the mistakes of the previous generation of Jedi, leading to their near-destruction yet again, this time due to his nephew, Ben Solo.
Although Luke Skywalker’s Legends-era characterization included plenty of missteps and repeated lessons, it ultimately aligned perfectly with his character arc in the original Star Wars trilogy. Luke, with his imperfections, founded a healthier successor to the prequel-era Jedi Order which never lost touch with the people it was sworn to protect. Luke’s characterization in the canon timeline after Return of the Jedi is, unfortunately, more dissonant to his original trilogy development but a Young Jedi Knights TV series could mitigate these issues to a degree. In addition to properly explaining why Luke replicated the flawed ways of the older Jedi, a canon Young Jedi Knights series could also further develop Ben Solo’s gradual fall from grace, making his transformation into Kylo Ren all the more tragic.
Young Jedi Knights Story & Characters Explained
Taking place over two decades after A New Hope, the Young Jedi Knights novels star the students of the New Jedi Order, including Han Solo and Leia Organa’s children (Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin) and other notable students, like Tenel Ka Djo, the daughter of a Hapan Prince and a Witch of Dathomir, as well as Lowbacca, a Force-sensitive Wookiee. The students’ adventures explore the ways of the New Jedi Order as they gradually become true Jedi Knights as well as pit them against new enemies in an uncharacteristically peaceful time in the Star Wars timeline.
The Galactic Civil War ended four years before the events of Young Jedi Knights, with the Imperial Remnant surrendering to the New Republic and signing the Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty. Unfortunately, there were plenty of Imperials who revolted against a peace treaty with the New Republic and thus formed the Second Imperium, a splinter faction with no official connection to the Imperial Remnant and a goal of destroying both the New Republic and the New Jedi Order. Along with the Second Imperium, the Young Jedi Knights’ antagonists also included the notorious Black Sun crime syndicate and the Diversity Alliance who, despite their altruistic-sounding name, sought to wipe out the galaxy’s human population as well as the Jedi. Unfortunately, the galaxy would be thrust into war shortly after the events of Young Jedi Knights, with the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong invading the known galaxy only a year later.
Why Fox’s Young Jedi Knights Animated Show Didn’t Happen
In the mid-1990s, Lucasfilm was approached by executives from Fox TV with the proposition of an animated series based on their Young Jedi Knights novels. The 1990s saw the debut of numerous successful animated programs, with Batman, the X-Men, and Spider-Man notably receiving critically-acclaimed and highly influential shows on Fox’s Fox Kids block. With beloved DC and Marvel adaptations on air at the time, it’s understandable that Fox would have wanted to add an iconic Star Wars property to their network, especially with the franchise’s non-movie material being so prominent at the time and the highly-anticipated prequel trilogy so close to release. Unfortunately, Lucasfilm turned down the offer, wishing to keep the franchise focused on the original trilogy special editions and the prequel trilogy.
Lucasfilm’s decision was unfortunate, as a Young Jedi Knights adaptation would have brought even greater mainstream awareness to their Expanded Universe stories and led to a generation of Star Wars fans growing up seeing the Young Jedi Knights characters on screen. The Batman and X-Men animated series are generally considered to be among the best adaptations of their respective properties, and given how seriously Lucasfilm creatives took continuity at the time, the Young Jedi Knights series would have likely been an extremely faithful adaptation of the books, allowing both to co-exist in the Star Wars timeline. Had Lucasfilm approved Fox’s proposal, the Young Jedi Knights animated series could have easily become one of the Star Wars franchise’s best-known properties.
Young Jedi Knights Should Become A Luke Skywalker Jedi Academy Series
Luke Skywalker’s new generation of Jedi is a fairly unexplored part of the current Star Wars canon’s timeline, making it an excellent subject for a TV series, be it live-action or animated. Using the Young Jedi Knights books as inspiration, this show would follow the adventures of Ben Solo and his fellow aspiring Jedi as they learn the ways of the Force from Luke Skywalker. Since the series would be similarly set during a time of peace for the New Republic, its villains could be Imperial terrorist groups as well as criminals and dark side cults, like the Knights of Ren. With the Sith Order seemingly gone, the show could further develop the Knights of Ren, highlighting their philosophical differences from the Sith and showing how Kylo Ren gradually became disillusioned with the Jedi, perhaps also using The Rise of Kylo Ren comic series as additional inspiration.
This canon version of Young Jedi Knights would also need to explore Luke Skywalker’s characterization further, explaining why he returned to the ways of the older Jedi, which nearly led him to ruin in Return of the Jedi. The show could potentially fix some of the issues that viewers had with Luke’s behavior in The Book of Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, further setting Luke’s successor, Rey, as the Jedi who’d improve the order after the Star Wars Skywalker Saga. The proposed Young Jedi Knights animated series unfortunately wasn’t made when it would have had the biggest impact on the Star Wars franchise, but a new version featuring the canon iteration of Luke Skywalker can still have a profoundly positive impact on the saga.
