Summary

  • Other Jedi existed in the New Republic era, but Rey is considered the last Jedi in the sequel trilogy.
  • The absence of New Republic era Jedi raises questions about their whereabouts during the sequels.
  • The Mandalorian movie may show a massive Jedi sacrifice, potentially explaining the absence of Jedi in the sequel trilogy.

One massive lingering question from the Star Wars' worst movies, although much of the harshest backlash about the trilogy has died down over the years.

Nevertheless, this era is an integral part of the Star Wars timeline, and it introduced a number of canon-altering changes to the franchise. One of the most significant reveals of the sequels, signaled by the title of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was that Luke Skywalker (and then Rey) seemed to be the sole surviving Jedi at the time. However, this glaring absence of other Jedi in the sequel trilogy raises serious questions about the New Republic era.

Rey to the left, Luke Skywalker in the center, and Palpatine to the right all from the sequel trilogy in a combined image
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There Are Many Jedi Around During The New Republic Era

Star Wars shows have proven that Luke Skywalker was far from the only Jedi alive in the New Republic era. Rather, Ahsoka alone revealed that Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, and Ezra Bridger were all active Jedi in the period between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Now, the Skeleton Crew trailer has revealed that Jude Law's character, Jod Na Nawood, possesses the Force. While that may not mean that he is a Jedi, it's quite possible that he is.

This would represent yet another Jedi who was alive during the New Republic era. Presumably, given this trend and the nature of the Force, there were countless other Force-sensitive beings alive at the time and perhaps even many more Jedi. After all, not all survivors of Order 66 have been ed for. Therefore, given that a mere 30 years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, it's difficult to understand where exactly all these Jedi went.

But Rey Is Considered To Be The Last Jedi

Rey Skywalker
Created By
Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt
Alliance
Jedi

What makes the Jedi of the New Republic era confusing is that Rey is meant to be the last Jedi in the sequel trilogy. While there were clearly other Force-sensitive people at the time (such as the boy in The Last Jedi who used the Force to pull a broom toward him), formal Jedi training seemed to have ended with Luke Skywalker and his fallen Jedi Temple before Rey arrived. This was also in keeping with the Skywalker Saga, at least what had been shown on screen, but Star Wars' TV shows have thrown a major wrench in that.

What happened to all the New Republic era Jedi?

Clearly, other Jedi existed outside of Luke's Temple prior to The Last Jedi. While, sure, this could be chalked up to a misnomer for the movie's title, there are other signs that there were no other Jedi at the time of the sequel trilogy. Most notably, no Jedi came to help the Resistance fight the Final Order on Exegol. If Ahsoka, Ezra, Sabine, and other Jedi were alive during Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, surely, they would have come to help. This raises the major question: what happened to all the New Republic era Jedi?

The Mandalorian Movie May See A Massive Jedi Sacrifice

Presumably, Star Wars has two options in its movies. Either the franchise can create a massive retcon that explains away why the Jedi were absent in the sequel trilogy and why no one knew they existed, or the new movies will need to kill off every remaining Jedi. While the latter seems a bit unimaginable given its magnitude, it isn't out of the question. In fact, this would essentially be a new generation's Order 66 on a much smaller scale.

Ahsoka may have even introduced how this could happen in the The Mandalorian & Grogu movie. Specifically, Ahsoka set the stage for the return of Grand iral Thrawn, an Imperial remnant and a major threat to the galaxy. It's possible that this could open up a galactic war that could take out the lingering Jedi. This would even make sense with Skeleton Crew's potential Jedi, as Skeleton Crew is concurrent with The Mandalorian.

However, issues remain even with this explanation. For one, there is no mention of such a war in the sequel trilogy, which would be more than a little odd. Moreover, it's still a bit unrealistic that every single Jedi would fight and die in such a battle. Clearly, Star Wars still needs to identify and offer an explanation for this discrepancy between the New Republic era and the sequel trilogy, which the franchise will hopefully do in its movies.