Star Wars: Episode IX will conclude both Disney’s Sequel Trilogy and the Skywalker Saga, but it should go even further - and end the Jedi and the Sith. The two warring factions of Force-users have helped define the franchise, but to fully realize the end of it all, both need to go… just as Luke Skywalker said.

Since 1977, we’ve seen a number of Jedi and Sith. From Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader to Luke vs. Emperor Palpatine, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan against Darth Maul to Yoda vs. Count Dooku, these battles have helped shape Star Wars. It goes beyond those individuals too: from Darth Bane’s ‘Rule of Two’ to the Jedi Council’s (mis)understanding of balance, they’ve determined our knowledge and understanding of the Force itself.

Rumor has it that Episode IX could be called Balance of the Force. It’s a great idea for a title, but for true balance to be achieved - which would be a fitting finale to the Skywalker Saga - then both the Jedi and Sith have to end.

  • This Page: The Last Jedi’s Idea of Ending the Jedi and the Sith Page 2: How Destroying Both Sides Can Bring Balance to the Force

Why Luke Wanted To End The Jedi

“It’s time for the Jedi to end.” Luke’s words in The Last Jedi sent shockwaves around the Star Wars fandom when the trailer first dropped. Episode VIII added a lot more context to that controversial point, clarifying Luke’s position. He’d bore witness to the damage done by both sides of the Jedi/Sith dichotomy. It wasn’t just that one was good and one evil; they both used and manipulated the Force in ways they shouldn’t. For the Jedi, it was their hubris that blinded them from seeing this enlightened path, with the end result being another young student turning towards the Dark Side. It was his failure, but also a failure of the entire Jedi Order.

Through Luke, The Last Jedi took us deeper into the Force as an all-encompassing thing. Yes, there was Light and Darkness, but more importantly, there was balance. For as long as there are Jedi, true balance seemingly cannot be achieved; their existence tips the scale too far in one direction. Even with the Sith around, there’s a push and pull that means it will always be too far in one direction.

That’s why Luke wanted to end the Jedi. To his mind, the Sith were gone. It was only the Jedi who were keeping the Force from being balanced. He’d somewhat change his mind by the end of the film, declaring that he would not be the last Jedi. That made sense in context, but he was also right in his earlier point: the Jedi should indeed end. No one order has a right to the Force. It shouldn’t be defined by extremes, but by the middle.

The Sith Are Gone (But Not Really)

So far in the Sequel Trilogy, we haven’t actually seen a Sith Lord. This distinguishes it from the previous trilogies: the Originals had Vader and Palpatine; the Prequels had Maul, Tyranus, and Sidious. The new movies have Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren: both very powerful Force-users, but neither actually Sith. That line was ended when Vader killed Palpatine, and returned to the Light Side as Anakin Skywalker before dying.

Except, of course, that Kylo Ren is basically on his way to becoming a Sith. He’s already got the Vader-inspired look and the impressive power-set. He and Snoke largely followed the Master-Apprentice dynamic established by the Rule of Two. They held to the Dark Side of the Force, and wanted to destroy Luke Skywalker. In The Last Jedi, he then performed what’s been a hallmark of Sith Lords through the years: turned against and killed his master.

Now he’s in charge of the First Order, and intent on ruling the galaxy. He might have told Rey to let the past die, but asking her to join him fit with the Dark Side order’s ancient ways. Kylo Ren is now about as close as one can get to being a Sith without officially being labeled as such, and there’s even a chance Episode IX will officially give him the title too.

Page 2: How Destroying Both Sides Can Bring Balance to the Force

Star Wars 9 Should End The Jedi & Sith

Star Wars Episode IX is ending the Skywalker Saga. That leaves it with a lot to wrap up. It needs to definitively end the journeys of Luke, Leia, and, most likely, Kylo Ren, but in a way that loops together three trilogies, nine movies, and 42 years of cinema. But that’s not even the be all and end all of what it needs to do in order to round out the Saga. One of the main threads through the movies has been the idea of bringing balance to the Force.

This is largely a Prequels idea, which is where we really learned about the concept of balance, albeit from the Jedi’s misguided point of view and their Chosen One prophecy. However, it can also be applied to the Original Trilogy too. We can see it all through Luke’s journey, and through the teachings of Obi-Wan and Yoda, who are pushing Luke to achieve balance by defeating the Empire and its Sith Lords. That’s extended into the Sequel Trilogy now as well: in The Force Awakens, Lor San Tekka says: “Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force.”

There needs to be a point for Luke to return in Episode IX, after all. And there needs to be a major shift in the galaxy for Episode IX to end the Skywalker Saga. Just doing that by killing them doesn’t fit with a franchise built on the idea of hope. Ending it with balance finally brought to the galaxy though - and with it, a sense of peace - certainly does. And it’s become increasingly obvious that true balance is achieved by removing the two opposite ends of the Force spectrum. Only by doing away with both the Jedi and the Sith can the Force find its balance, and that’s why Episode IX needs to end both.

Can There Really Be A Balance In The Force?

There is one caveat to all of this - a great unknown that it hasn’t been possible to explore yet. Can the Force work without the Jedi and Sith? When the Light was in power, darkness grew in the shadows. When the Dark Side asserted its dominance, Light rose to meet it. We’ve never really seen a galaxy, and thus the nature of the Force, without these two opposing sides.

There’s an argument, then, that they need each other. That history is going to keep on repeating itself, because the Jedi need the Sith, and vice versa, in order for things to actually be balanced. It is as the Force wills it. This has been explored to a degree in Star Wars Rebels, through the character Bendu. He takes no part in conflcits, and exists not as the Dark Side or Light, but as “the one in the middle.” Even he, though, was simply a neutral in the midst of a conflict, rather than confirmation true balance could exist.

Similarly, The Clone Wars’ three-episode Mortis arc (which inspired The Last Jedi) introduces us to the Ones (the Father, Son, and Daughter), who represent the two sides of the Force and balance. Again, this was the Father attempting to maintain balance between the two opposite sides, and his health began to fail him so much he had to search for a successor. That further suggests balance isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Alas, it’s impossible to know if that’s the case until you remove them both and find out. While there’s a chance that could backfire with regards to the Force being thrown into a state of flux, the overwhelming evidence suggests it would be beneficial. It doesn’t feel as though things have been balanced so far. One side attempting to destroy the other isn’t exactly a neutral ground. If there are no sides each attempting to bend the Force to their will, then it’s free to move as it wishes, binding all things together in a far more organic way. Either way, ending the Jedi and Sith is going to have major ramifications on the Force, the galaxy, and Star Wars as a whole. But the likelihood is that it would be what achieved, at long last, that which it’s been striving for. Balance.

More: Every Story Reveal From J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars 9 Photo

  • Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20