We now know Disney’s schedule for upcoming Star Wars films. Speculation has thus turned to guessing what those future films will hold. There have been enough “leaks” and other rumors, including inferences from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, to suggest that the next film era of Star Wars will focus on the Old Republic. With Game of Thrones showrunners Benioff and Weiss at the helm of the next trilogy, that makes sense. But what if the next Star Wars films give us a new era entirely?  What if The Rise of Skywalker heralds the era of the Gray Jedi?

Gray Jedi
Artist’s rendering of a Gray Jedi. (Image: CDRIKO 2013)

The Gray are often a topic of contention within the Star Wars fan base. For some fans, the notion is untenable. The Jedi are the protectors of the light, and the Sith are the keepers of the dark side of the Force. Gray Jedi cannot exist in that dichotomy. For others, Gray Jedi are not only natural, but necessary. Frankly, everything leading up to Star Wars: Episode IX, and beyond, almost makes their existence inevitable.

Can a future Star Wars trilogy focus on Gray Jedi?

Gray Jedi
Image credit unknown.

The key belief that the Gray Jedi hold is that all must be in balance, not simply the Force. That means they themselves must be in balance. Without dark, there can be no light, and vice versa. Both dwell within every sentient being, and thus one must learn to accept and control both in order to be in balance. That’s not to say they are morally ambiguous. They’re more like… morally ambidextrous.

Look closely at existing canon and you’ll already find multiple characters that fit the description of Gray Jedi. Some of whom could even appear in a trilogy set after the events of Star Wars: Episode IX. Ahsoka Tano is a prime example.

Gray Jedi
Did Rebels make Ahsoka a Gray Jedi without explicitly saying so? (Image: Lucasfilm ltd.)

Ahsoka learned a hard lesson during The Clone Wars Season 5. She experienced first-hand the Jedi hubris Luke Skywalker described in The Last Jedi. She left the order, but did not abandon her Jedi ideals. Still, she was no longer Jedi. Even her white lighstabers showed she’d become something…. Different.

Other Grays in Star Wars Canon

One could describe other, established characters as Gray Jedi, as well. Qui-Gon Jinn, and his friend Rael Averross (as noted in Claudia Gray’s novel Master and Apprentice) have certainly dipped into their dark side from time to time. Yet, Qui-Gon especially stayed true to fundamental Jedi principal. Similarly, Luke Skywalker in RotJ could even be considered Gray. Most Jedi don’t resort to force-choking as their first means of negotiation.  

Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I. (Image Lucasfilm ltd.)

Likewise, Star Wars Rebels’ Ezra Bridger could be the Gray Jedi poster boy. Don’t forget, he was able to open a Sith holocron, an ability no full Jedi should possess. Ezra, like Ahsoka, has not yet resurfaced since his last appearance in the Rebels series finale. He and Ahsoka could form the basis of a new order, and a starting point for an entire trilogy of films chronicling the Gray Jedi’s rise.

What do you think? Would you like to see the new Star Wars films focus on Gray Jedi? The Old Republic? Or something entirely different? Let us know in the comments!