Summary
Star Warswill move beyond the Skywalker saga with Rey’sNew Jedi Order, but it still may have to address some of the issues of the franchise’s past, particularly Palpatine’s final legacy.New Jedi Orderis set to move further into the future oftheStar Warstimelinethan any otherStar Warsmoviehas gone before, starting about 15 years afterStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While it’s an exciting push into the future of the franchise,New Jedi Orderalso seems set to examine the history ofStar Warsstories that came before.
There aren’t manyconfirmed story details aboutNew Jedi Orderyet, but there have been some clues as to what the next chapter of Rey’s story will concern. AfterThe Rise of Skywalker’s reveal thatRey’s father was Palpatine’s clone, she’ll likely need to address her relationship to the Sith Lord and Emperor. Though he suffered his second and final death inThe Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine’s relationship to Rey may not be the biggest problem he poses toNew Jedi Order, and his final legacy could be even harder to solve.
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Palpatine Worked Carefully To Ensure The Jedi Were Unpopular
When Palpatine rose to power and established the First Galactic Empire, he made a few strategic moves to both ruin the Jedi Order’s reputation and help the galaxy forget about them.He began a large-scale propaganda campaign that painted the Jedi as terrorists, and he claimed that Mace Windu and the other Jedi inStar Wars: Revenge of the Sithattempted to assassinate him. Chris Kempshall’s in-universe history of the Empire, “Star Wars The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire,” explained exactly why Palpatine made those moves.
“His planned eradication of the Jedi would only be truly successful if the population either already hated them or did not care about their fate.”
In essence,Order 66wasn’t enough to destroy the Jedi.If Palpatine had simply eradicated every individual Jedi, they would have been martyred in the eyes of the galaxy, and they might have inspired rebellion. To prevent that, Palpatine had to kill the idea of the Jedi, and rob the Order of its symbolic power. Making the Jedi unpopular benefited Palpatine and the Empire in the short term, but his propaganda campaign seems to have had much longer-lasting effects, and it seems to be Palpatine’s last legacy in the galaxy.
Rey Skywalker
Daughter of a “failed” Palpatine clone, Rey became part of a mysterious phenomenon known as the Force Dyad - a vergence in the Force that bound her to Kylo Ren. Trained by both Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, Rey fought against the First Order as an ally of the Resistance. She ultimately triumphed against Palpatine himself, channelling the full power of all Jedi.
Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious
The senator for Naboo, Palpatine rose to power and influence during the dying days of the Republic. In reality, his public persona was just a mask; he was really Darth Sidious, greatest of the Sith Lords, and he used his political skills and Machiavellian cunning to bring down both the Republic and the Jedi. Palpatine ruled his Galactic Empire for decades, until he was betrayed by his apprentice, Darth Vader. Even this wasn’t enough to stop the Emperor, however, as he was resurrected by his followers - only to be defeated once again.
Based on the propaganda Palpatine spread after Order 66, Rey could easily face quite a bit of opposition to her goal of restoring the Jedi Order.Even though Palpatine had been exposed as a Sith Lord and the Empire was largely seen as the atrocity it was, many people likely only learned about the Jedi through his propaganda. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy hinted that Rey will have to prove theJedi are worth restoring inNew Jedi Order, especially after the death and destruction of the Skywalker saga.
“The question that we’re gonna ask with New Jedi Order and with Rey, is does the galaxy need them anymore? Do they want them back? So there’s a lot of food for thought in what we’re doing, whether it’s in the past, present, or future.”
Palpatine’s propaganda will be a massive part of the reason the galaxy doesn’t want the Jedi to return, but there are also some actual criticisms of the Jedi. Objectively, the Jedi did at least contribute to quite a bit of suffering throughout theStar Warstimeline. They allowed Palpatine and the Empire to gain power, and the last attempt to bring back the Jedi,Luke Skywalker’s temple on Ossus, resulted in Kylo Ren and the rise of the First Order. Rey will have her work cut out for her inNew Jedi Order, and Palpatine’s legacy will only make her work more difficult.
Purchase Chris Kempshall’s “Star Wars The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire” on Amazon.
Star Wars: New Jedi Order
Cast
The tenth mainline installment in the Star Wars franchise is the first movie to follow the sequel trilogy, where Mark Hamill’s Luke, Carrie Fisher’s Leia, and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo gave their final farewell. After the release of The Rise of Skywalker, development on a direct sequel had become dormant as Disney shifted focus on other parts of the galaxy, namely, Disney+ shows such as The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka. However, a movie starring Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker was officially announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
