Latest ‘Star Wars’ news: Should the Jedi Order ever be restored and what’s the deal with the whole Force Ghost thing?

The future of Star Wars on the big screen remains unclear, particularly as Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron doesn’t have a release date and isn’t filming anytime soon. Taika Waititi’s adventure into a galaxy far, far away will likely be our next big screen adventure, though that might not land until 2024/25. It’s a frustrating state of affairs, particularly with stars like Christian Bale itching to appear in the greatest of all cinematic universes (sorry Marvel, but you know it’s true).

However, though the focus has shifted to small-screen adventures on Disney Plus, there’s still much to debate when it comes to the Skywalker Saga, and there are several illuminating fan discussions querying the original movies. At the moment, it appears that there’s some kind of fever for Jedi knowledge, so let’s take the fandom’s temperature.

Should the Jedi Order be left in the dustbin of history?

The destruction of the Jedi Order was one of the most consequential moments in galactic history. In Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious’ Order 66 dismantled the millennia-old institution almost overnight, killing the majority of the Jedi and repurposing the Jedi Temple as an Imperial Fortress.

But with the Empire defeated, can the Jedi Order mount a comeback? Star Wars fans have pointed out that while it’s theoretically possible for Rey to recreate the Order, perhaps its flaws mean it should be left in the past. After all, core Jedi tenets like emotional detachment, separating young children from their families, and being an unaccountable extrajudicial paramilitary arguably contributed to Anakin’s fall and the rise of the Empire.

It’s a thorny question and one the franchise isn’t in any rush to answer, though there have been some hints that Rey’s confirmed future as a Jedi Master means it’ll return in some form.

Why don’t all Jedi disappear when they die?

One of the most satisfying ironies of Star Wars is that while the Sith are on a quest for immortality, the Jedi have casually achieved it without even trying that hard. The key difference is that while the Sith want to extend the lives of their physical bodies, some Jedi have learned to become one with the Force and live on as glowing blue ghosts.

But fans are wondering why this doesn’t seem to be the case for every Jedi. Most notably, those who were killed during Order 66 didn’t disappear into the Force and haven’t returned as ghosts. Fortunately, there are answers, namely that everyone we’ve seen do it in the movies was linked to The Phantom Menace‘s Qui-Gon Jinn, who taught Obi-Wan and Yoda from beyond the grave.

As for how Anakin Skywalker managed to learn it during his time as Darth Vader? Well, there are a couple of fun answers for that too.

Why couldn’t Darth Maul use Force Lightning?

Darth Maul was an intimidating presence and a fearsome warrior, as proven by him holding his own against two Jedi at once. Since 1999 fans have thought that his apparent death in The Phantom Menace came way too early, but he has since returned in with a robotic lower half in Clone Wars, Rebels, and very briefly in the closing moments of Solo. But in all those appearances he hasn’t used one of the most iconic Sith powers: Force Lightning.

Now fans are theorizing as to why and there’s no official answer. The canon answer is that Force Lightning is one of the most advanced Sith skills and that the relatively young Maul hasn’t had time to learn it. It’s also pointed out that he’s focused on being an effective lightsaber duellist rather than a Force-wielder, so it may be difficult to incorporate lightning into his fighting style.

Or, perhaps more straightforwardly, Maul simply allocated his skill points elsewhere.

As the week goes on we’ll naturally get a lot to discuss when episode five of Andor drops on Wednesday, and we’re still hopeful for a new trailer for the CG animated show Tales of the Jedi. That lands on October 26 and will reveal the past of prequel-era characters like Count Dooku. Let’s hope we find out some of the other Jedi whose stories will be focused on in the show, as we’d love to know more about fan favorites like Asajj Ventress.