One Phantom Menace Line Revealed How Luke Skywalker Could Rebuild The Jedi Order

One line from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace reveals how Luke Skywalker was able to rebuild a Jedi Order prior to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Although it was never fully depicted in Star Wars movies and TV shows, Luke Skywalker did successfully begin a Jedi Temple between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While Kylo Ren ultimately brought an end to that, it was nevertheless an impressive feat for Luke to single-handedly restore the Jedi at this point in the Star Wars timeline.

Star Wars may have already revealed how Luke accomplished this, even if it wasn’t shown on screen. In fact, Luke’s strategy may have inadvertently revealed a massive flaw in the prequel trilogy’s Jedi Order and the recruiting practices at the time. Specifically, Luke Skywalker might have changed one key aspect of the prequel trilogy Jedi Order’s recruitment that enabled him to identify many more Force-users.

The Jedi Only Looked For Force-Sensitive Children In The Republic

From the moment Qui-Gon Jinn encountered Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine in The Phantom Menace, he knew that he was special and incredibly powerful in the Force. In fact, Qui-Gon told Shmi Skywalker that, had Anakin been born in the Republic, they would have identified him earlier. This line strongly suggests that the Jedi Order, at least at this point in time, only considered Jedi Initiates who were born within the Republic.

Given the Jedi Council’s hesitation being Anakin’s age rather than his place of birth, it seems the rule was not that only children born within the Republic were allowed to be admitted to the Order. However, it’s clear that the Jedi recruiting practices did not include exploring planets outside the Republic and identifying Force-sensitive children. Given the nature of the Force, this inevitably means that countless Force-sensitive children were missed by the Jedi Order, undoubtedly of varying levels of power.

The Jedi Almost Missed The Chosen One Himself

The issue with this approach to recruitment is evident in The Phantom Menace itself. Qui-Gon happened upon Anakin coincidentally (or, arguably, due to fate), meaning that the Jedi almost missed the Chosen One himself because they only sought Jedi Initiates from the Republic. While, in the long run, perhaps that would have been for the best—as Anakin ended up wiping out the Jedi and helping Palpatine establish the Empire—it’s clear that the Jedi were missing children who could have become incredibly powerful Jedi.

If someone as powerful as Anakin could be overlooked because he was born outside the Republic, it’s difficult to say who else could have been missed. Indeed, the Jedi Order may very well have deprived themselves of individuals who could have become some of Star Wars’ most powerful Jedi simply because they didn’t expand their search. However, this could be precisely how Luke Skywalker began to rebuild the Jedi Order following Return of the Jedi.

Luke Skywalker Only Needed To Look Beyond The Republic For Recruits

It’s unclear what precisely Luke’s recruiting practices were for his own Jedi Temple, but it’s unlikely he adopted the prequel trilogy Jedi Order’s approach. For one, that simply wouldn’t be practical for Luke. He was essentially beginning from nothing, which would have made it illogical for him to be restrictive in where he sought Force-sensitive beings. Moreover, the galaxy was recovering from the terrible reign of the Empire; planets and their affiliations would have been much less clearly defined at the time.

In all likelihood, Luke would have been searching far and wide to identify Initiates for his burgeoning Temple. This would have proven quite difficult even with a wide net, though, as the Jedi had been hunted down and demonized for so long throughout the galaxy that it would have been challenging to get Force-sensitive individuals to feel safe stepping forward (or for parents to approve Luke training their children). In fact, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett suggested how challenging this was.

Clearly, Luke had struggled to recruit Force-sensitive children to his Temple, as Grogu seemed to be the sole Initiate when he briefly trained under Luke. Perhaps it was even Grogu’s departure that was the catalyst for Luke to redouble his efforts to grow his Temple. Either way, though, this line from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace suggests, in part, where the prequel trilogy Jedi Order went wrong with their recruiting practices and how Luke Skywalker may have improved upon this approach.

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

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The beginning of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace sees young Anakin Skywalker put on his path to discovering his ability to influence the Force. While attempting to thwart the nefarious Trade Federation in their plans for the planet of Naboo, two Jedi discover an exceptionally-gifted slave with the ability to wield the Force. Little do they know, rescuing him is just the beginning of a saga that will span generations of the Skywalker family.  

Release Date

May 19, 1999

Distributor(s)

20th Century

Cast

Ewan McGregor , Liam Neeson , Natalie Portman , Jake Lloyd , Ahmed Best , Ian McDiarmid , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Pernilla August , Frank Oz , Ray Park , Samuel L. Jackson

Runtime

133 minutes

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