Star Wars' New TV Show Has Convinced Me It's Time To Move On From The Jedi (& That's The Best Way To Honor Them)

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
has finally convinced me it’s time for Star Wars to move on from the Jedi. What words and ideas spring to mind when you think of Star Wars? The franchise’s most famous symbol is, of course, the sight of a lightsaber held aloft – a modern-day Excalibur rallying heroes to the battle for justice, or a blood-red blade held in the hands of a Lord of the Sith.

Star Wars has always been more than just the Jedi, of course. Mark Hamill described Star Wars as a fairy tale dressed up as science-fiction, pointing to the fact the first movie basically has a princess, a pirate, and a wizard; we’ve tended to focus on the wizards (in part because of the Rule of Cool), but all those other elements are an essential part of the mix too. Now, at last, I’m ready for Star Wars to shift its focus.

Star Wars Has Been Focused On The Jedi For The Last 48 Years

“From The Adventures Of Luke Skywalker”

Luke Skywalker may not be the only important character in the first Star Wars movie (later retitled A New Hope), but he’s undoubtedly the most important. These stories were originally billed as “From the adventures of Luke Skywalker,” after all; he starts out as the everyman hero, the one through whom young viewers can imagine themselves changing the fate of a galaxy, blowing down a Death Star, and even wielding a lightsaber. It’s true that Star Wars moved away from the everyman themes, but the focus remained on Luke.

The Star Wars Expanded Universe maintained that relentless focus on the wonders of the Force. Kevin J. Anderson’s “Jedi Academy Trilogy” saw Luke establish a new Jedi Order, which would become the centerpiece of the evolving Star Wars timeline. Books and comics would go on to explore the founding of the Jedi Order 25,000 years ago, and its future a century after the Skywalker saga. Even Mike Stackpole’s wonderful X-Wing books featured a Force-sensitive pilot who became a Jedi.

That focus has remained, even when those stories have ceased to be canon. Although Lucas’ prequel trilogy made Anakin Skywalker the star rather than Luke, the Jedi Order was still at the center. The Disney era began with Star Wars Rebels and the introduction of an Order 66 survivor who took on a Padawan, and the sequels saw Rey prove herself a true Jedi in the end – one now destined to create her own “New Jedi Order.” For 48 years, Star Wars has been all about the Jedi.

Skeleton Crew & Bad Batch Showed Star Wars Is More Than Just The Jedi

The Last Year Has Proved The Point

To be fair to Disney, there have been exceptions. 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is generally seen as the best Star Wars movie made by the House of Mouse, and no Star Wars TV show has received the kind of acclaim we’ve seen with Andor. Tony Gilroy’s phenomenal show has seen its reputation improve as the years have passed, and excitement levels for Andor season 2 couldn’t be higher. Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin is a massively important Disney character, and he’s no Jedi (even if he is accompanied by another Order 66 survivor).

But it’s taken the last year to make me realize I’m ready for the focus to shift. The Acolyte was the most Jedi-centric story under Disney; it was far from perfect, but there’s no way it was as poor as its Rotten Tomatoes audience score suggests. Lucasfilm seem to have hoped that would be the next big thing, but its storytelling and character work paled in comparison to non-Jedi stories such as Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Maybe it’s time for a change?

Don’t get me wrong, I still care so much about the Jedi. I loved Ahsoka, and I’m eager to watch Ahsoka season 2 (and more than a little frustrated that it’s likely going to be 2027 before I get to see it). But The Bad Batch and Skeleton Crew have reminded me that there’s so much more to this galaxy than the Force, and their characters are compelling precisely because they’re not constrained by the boundaries of Jedi doctrine. I’m ready for more.

Skeleton Crew Honored The Jedi In The Best Possible Way

Skeleton Crew Offers A New Vision Of The Jedi Too

And here’s the remarkable thing; Skeleton Crew may not be about Jedi, but there’s a weird sense in which it’s shown the best vision of Jedi I’ve ever seen in the franchise. Wim hero-worships the Jedi; the story opens with him engaging his friend Neel in a playful mock lightsaber fight. But when he finally gets his hands on a lightsaber in episode 5, he does what any one of us would (really) do: he messes up. And yet, the very next episode, he’s praised for being a true Jedi: why?

Because being a Jedi isn’t about lightsabers or the Force. Stripped down to their most basic elements, the Jedi are not wizards or warriors. They are simply the ones who try to help, the ones who inspire hope in others. Wim saves his friend KB in Skeleton Crew episode 6, and in doing so, he proves he’s a Jedi at heart. He honors the true core idea of the Jedi, shunning all the baggage about Jedi Codes and Force powers. It’s so wonderful to see.

Skeleton Crew proves there’s another way to focus on the Jedi: not as an ancient order of mystics, but as simply the ones who inspire others to be like them in doing good. I’ve been a fan of Star Wars since 1991, as a child who watched A New Hope and swiftly got hooked on… well, everything. But there’s something so wonderful about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s vision of the Jedi, something more compelling than anything I’ve seen since Lucas’ original trilogy. By moving on from the Jedi at last, Star Wars is honoring them more than ever before.