It’s 1983. You’re watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker has defeated the Empire and is now the last Jedi. It’s 2005. You’re watching Revenge of the Sith. Anakin Skywalker has destroyed the Jedi Order, leaving Yoda and Obi-Wan as the last known Jedi. It’s 2019. You’re watching The Rise of Skywalker. Rey has defeated the First Order and is now the last Jedi.
A resurgent Jedi Order has been on the fandom’s mind since 1983. When audiences were first introduced to the magical space monks, they were instantly entranced by the mystery and mysticism surrounding the Jedi. The Prequel Trilogy finally gave fans a glimpse at the Jedi Order of old, but it was already at the end of its days and had lost its way. Sadly, it seemed as though fans would never get to see the Order at its true height, a feeling exacerbated by the Sequel Trilogy.
It was a controversial creative decision, but the Sequel Trilogy chose to present Luke (Mark Hamill) as the last of his kind once again. Many critics have compared The Force Awakens unfavorably to A New Hope; to many, the movie evokes A New Hope too closely, circuitously returning the franchise to its rebels-vs-empire roots in order to evoke a cheap feeling of nostalgia in its viewers.
By the end of The Rise of Skywalker, the franchise is basically back to where it was at the end of The Return of the Jedi. The First Order is destroyed, Palpatine is dead, and Rey (Daisy Ridley) must now rebuild the Jedi Order. Subsequent rumors about Ridley’s return to Star Wars suggest that Rey’s attempt at restarting the Order will be the focus of future films, but any further information has yet to be forthcoming.
That’s why it’s interesting that Ahsoka has decided to touch on the issue of the future of the Jedi. In Ahsoka, it was revealed that Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) had taken Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as her Padawan apprentice for an unknown period of time. By the end of the series’ second episode, their arrangement is rekindled once more, and Sabine even calls Ahsoka “master.” But not only had Sabine never shown any indication of Force sensitivity before this series, Ahsoka herself had abandoned the Jedi way several decades prior.
Now, though, it looks like Ahsoka might be starting up her own Jedi sect. Although Ahsoka took issue with the way that the Jedi operated back in the Clone Wars, its long been clear that Ahsoka is still a firm devotee of the Light Side of the Force, and that she still carries many of the beliefs the Jedi espoused. She’s clearly ready to pass on what she has learned. And Sabine herself also represents a path that’s separate from the old Jedi way: Ahsoka — who was taken in by the Jedi at a young age — as is traditional, allows Sabine to approach her in adulthood. For comparison, when Anakin Skywalker attempted to join the old Order at 9 years old, Yoda had felt he was too old already.
Sabine is also notably a Mandalorian, a people who have had a contentious history with the Jedi Order. Their famed Darksaber is actually the creation of Tarre Viszla – the last Mandalorian Jedi. Sabine actually managed to own it for a time, but she didn’t demonstrate any particular skill with it (which led most to believe she truly had no Force sensitivity).
There’s also the matter of Sabine’s intense attachments. The Prequel Era Jedi advocated for an utter lack of emotional attachment; members were not allowed to marry and loss was something to be accepted. Ahsoka had several important relationships in her life that might have led her down a different path, however: in addition to her deep and loving relationship with Anakin Skywalker (Christian Haydensen), she also nearly entered into a romantic relationship with a Separatist known as Lux Bonteri.
Similarly, Sabine has close ties to the Ghost crew, like Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and her search for Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) has taken up all of her time for years. It’s clearly become an obsession for her, which Ahsoka does not seem to object to. And Ezra — who was a Padawan under Kanan Jarrus (who himself had a relationship with Hera Syndulla) — occasionally expressed romantic feelings toward Sabine early on. Should Ezra be found and join up with Ahsoka and Sabine, their experiences may lead them away from several Jedi teachings like the lack of attachments, which is something Luke’s Order ended up embracing.
Of course, Ahsoka has also already begun exploring the idea that there’s more than one way to be a Force user. The series’ villains are all members of various sects dedicated to the Dark Side. Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) are Darksiders that are possibly related to the Sith. Baylan was once a Jedi — like Ahsoka — and he expresses some sadness at having to kill a Jedi, stating that there are so few left. Meanwhile, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is a Nightsister — a nearly-extinct group of female Force witches that refer to the Force as ‘magic’. Her order was hunted down on order of Darth Sidious, who had coveted the power of the Dark Side for his own.
Then there’s the mysterious Inquisitor Marrok (Paul Darnell) – who appears to be a remnant of the Imperial Inquisitorius that would hunt down Jedi. That order is said to be defunct by the time Ahsoka takes place, and Inquisitors under the Empire were given numerical designations like “Second Sister” or “Third Brother.” Given series’ creator Dave Filoni’s penchant for referencing the old Star Wars Expanded Universe (The Eye of Sion might hold special meaning for Knights of the Old Republic II players), don’t be surprised if Marrok is secretly someone the audience is already familiar with. A modified Galen Marek has been speculated by some.
Ahsoka’s resident droid, Huyang (David Tennant) also provides an invaluable connection to the Force traditions of the Old Republic. The character is supposed to be a training droid employed by the Jedi Order. Thousands of years old, Huyang has instructed countless Jedi on the construction of their lightsabers. He’s certain to have witnessed several significant historical events, and holds the key to lost Jedi techniques. If Ahsoka, Ezra, and Sabine do decide to form their own Jedi Order, then they have their own repository of information traveling alongside them.
Star Wars is full of retcons. It’s practically baked into the DNA of the series. Even as far back as The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas infamously revealed that Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) was Luke Skywalker’s father. This wasn’t planned from the beginning, though; Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) explicitly tells Luke that his father was killed by Vader in the preceding movie. The twist worked so well that Lucas went ahead with it anyway, with Obi-Wan’s Force ghost dismissing his lie by stating it was “true, from a certain point of view”.
That true-from-a-certain-point-of-view philosophy is a mantra Star Wars has carried with it ever since. See the revelation that Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer) is Luke Skywalker’s long-lost twin sister, Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) inexplicable survival, and the existence of Ahsoka Tano herself. Some of these retcons work better than others, but what they really demonstrate is that Lucasfilm is willing to change previously-established facts for the sake of the story they want to tell.
Of course, such an approach does run the risk of harming the narrative integrity of the story. Much of Luke’s arc in the sequels involves him coming back around to the idea of hope once again, and that’s tied heavily into the concept that he believes he’s alone in his destiny once more. But much of the narrative tension surrounding Luke’s final duel with his father — a duel during which Luke is explicitly called the last of the Jedi — relies on Luke being the last of his father’s Order. That was true when the movie was written, but decades of supplementary materials now make it clear that there were more than a few Jedi around.
So that does not preclude the idea that Lucasfilm is headed for this kind of retcon. The Sequel Trilogy left very few original ideas on the table, and there’s going to need to be some new concepts introduced before the franchise continues.
Ahsoka’s original depiction in Star Wars: The Clone Wars is oddly appropriate. The Clone Wars expanded on much of the Prequel Era, making it more popular among the fanbase. Now, Ahsoka has the opportunity to expand the Sequel Era, which is woefully lacking in worldbuilding. If the franchise is to continue in a post-Sequel Era, it’s going to need some more flavor. Rey may be the last of the old style of Jedi, but perhaps Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra can form their own sect — or maybe the four of them can unite to form their own, better Jedi Order.
