Top 10 Jedi Who Deserve Their Own Show

Top 10 Jedi Who Deserve Their Own Show

In 1977 our world was forever changed when George Lucas transported us all to a galaxy far, far away. Populated by droids and farm boys with dubious reading-comprehension skills, Star Wars combined the fantasy of Flash Gordon serials with the grit and feeling of old westerns.

This unique blend of genres has become the signature vibe of the Star Wars universe, but what if there was more?

We know that trillions of beings live in that distant galaxy. Yet, there were only ten thousand Jedi alive during the final days of the Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire. We know of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. We know all about his Padawan and eventual enemy, Anakin Skywalker. We know about Luke.

But what about the others? Disney holds the rights to every Jedi we've ever heard of and the resources to push the boundaries of what Star Wars can be. So if they're looking for a sign to try, this is it. Here are ten relatively obscure Jedi who deserve shows and stories of their own.

Jaina Solo

Alright, before you say anything, I know. I know already. Jaina Solo isn't real, and she can't hurt you. She was a tragic casualty of Disney's takeover and one of the many characters relegated to Star Wars Legends. However –

Disney has saved characters from Legends before. Just think of Thrawn!

So while Jaina is not and, at this point, cannot be a Solo, there is no real reason she couldn't come back as, say, a Skywalker.

All it would take is two words: Mara Jade.

What if in those decades between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Luke and Mara Jade met, fell in love, and had kids? But then, things went south. As Ben Solo grew stronger and more volatile, Luke became distracted by the darkness surrounding his nephew.

Ben's struggle placed a strain on Luke's relationship with Mara. When the unthinkable happened, the burden of guilt Luke carried only caused their marriage to splinter. Due to the danger of the First Order and Luke's increasing apathy and retreat from responsibility, Mara took her daughter and disappeared into the stars.

There, she raised Jaina alone, training her in all the ways of the Jedi that Luke was so determined to forget.

Is it melodramatic? Yes. Does it strain believability? Absolutely.

But Star Wars has always been a soap opera. Wild twists, shocking reveals, long-lost children, and dramatic relationships have always been par for the course in this drama.

And the thing is, if we can get on board with this explanation, then we can right the legacy of the Skywalkers and bring their light back into the Star Wars universe. There's an interesting dichotomy between Rey (a Skywalker by choice) and Jaina (a Skywalker by blood). Besides, if anything of the Jedi is to be saved, Rey needs to learn from someone who knew them, loved them, and is one of them.

Is this a heavily biased opinion with only a very thin justification to support it? Sure. But you know what, I grew up reading Jaina's stories, and I miss my ‘Sword of the Jedi.' I can see her returning as a bookend to Rey or Finn in a future Skywalker trilogy.

Feemor

Okay, Feemor is canon… almost. Almost canon. It's complicated. For those who have never heard this name in their lives, Feemor (last name unknown) debuted in the mini-run comic book series Jedi – The Dark Side. There we learned he'd been Qui-Gon Jinn's first Padawan, preceding Xanatos and Obi-Wan.

However, nothing in Star Wars continuity is ever clear or consistent. Other contemporary sources stated that Qui-Gon had only ever had one Padawan before Obi-Wan. In the classic Jedi Apprentice series, edgelord Xanatos fell to the dark prior to Qui-Gon apprenticing Obi-Wan. His legacy cast a shadow over Obi-Wan for nearly the entirety of his apprenticeship.

So where does Feemor fit into this, then? Was he or wasn't he Qui-Gon's first?

The answer came via the StarWars.com databank, as well as clarification on Twitter. Feemor had been Qui-Gon's first apprentice, but in a fit of melodrama and anger in the wake of Xanatos' betrayal, Qui-Gon repudiated him. Unfortunately, in refusing to recognize Xanatos, he also refused to acknowledge any previous student, leaving Feemor hanging. Poor little dude.

However, the new Disney canon has completely erased this backstory. Obi-Wan is now Qui-Gon's first and only apprentice, and their relationship is strained. For reasons, I guess.

But reintroducing Feemor to this story could add some spice back into the soup. Consider this – Feemor was Qui-Gon's first Padawan, and Feemor has been, for some reason, erased from Qui-Gon's life.

Maybe that reason is that he became a Jedi Shadow. Tasked with hunting down and destroying darkness in the galaxy under a shroud of utmost secrecy, Jedi Shadows were anonymous beings. They operated as their namesake suggests: like shadows.

Maybe Feemor has embraced his role so entirely that he has practically disappeared. Perhaps Qui-Gon believes him “dead” or fallen. Maybe he is so deep undercover that no one but the Council knows he even exists anymore.

And wouldn't that make for a fantastic series? It could show us an elite class of Jedi never seen on screen, introducing a host of new powers, skills, and missions. We could see new types of Force users and strange artifacts.

It could explore the arcane, bizarre, and dangerous. I envision it as a Star Wars version of The Green Knight. Thread it through with a touch of cosmic horror, and there's a Burton or del Toro show in this.

Cloaked in the night, Feemor trawls through the criminal underworld, looking for the tiniest flicker of hope in the darkest shadows of the world. Jedi Undercover. Think about it.

Ooba-Neba Nocci

I'll admit it. I don't have a lot to go on with this one. I just really love his name! So fair warning, this one's no substance, just vibes.

Ooba-Neba's Wookiepedia article is just a stub. Still, we know he led a bunch of younglings to a Gathering on Illum. Crechelings are baby Jedi who have yet to match with a master. A Gathering is a ceremony in which a Jedi finds the first crystal they'll use to power their lightsaber.

During this event, the supervising master is essentially playing babysitter to a bunch of kids on a high-risk field trip. So we know he's good with kids and immune to stress. He's got the Jedi zen down!

Everything else about him is a total mystery. But I still think there's a story here.

Just imagine who Ooba-Neba has seen at these Gatherings. Consider who he has seen pass through his care, whose hand he has held, and what the massacre at the Temple must have been like for him. There's potential for sitcom-style cute-kid antics and also absolutely devastating tragedy.

I'm thinking one of those classic kids' shows that children love and their parents love to cry over. It's giving me The Land Before Time or The Lion King vibes. Ooba's got the range for comedy and tragedy both, babes.

Also, I just think that his name is begging for a Dr. Seuss moment. There's no way these kids didn't come up with all kinds of schoolyard chants. For example:

Ooba-Neba Nocci
Ain't a Liberace
His girlfriend is a droid
That only speaks in bocce.

See? The show practically writes itself.

Reva Sevander

A newcomer to the Star Wars compendium of heroes, Reva Sevander's story is wide open with potential. We know the bare bones of her arc. We know she began as a padawan in the Temple who was there the night Anakin became Darth. She survived. She bided her time. She became an Inquisitor, and after years of waiting, she took her shot.

And in the end, Reva saved herself despite years of fear, hate, and suffering.

That's cool enough on its own, but there's still so much about Reva that we don't know. The concept of a Jedi submersing themself in the dark side to enact their revenge years later is compelling. Yet during the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, we saw hardly any of that journey! Instead, we were robbed of all the juiciest parts! Robbed, I tell you!

So what I'm pitching is this: Reva-dale.

I know we love to slag off The CW's Riverdale, but you can't deny that no matter how ridiculous, it's still fun! And it has immaculate vibes. That sort of retro-glowwave vibe is ideally suited to the underworld of Coruscant, where Reva ended up after escaping Order 66. Plus, a serialized show following a group of disenfranchised and orphaned street kids would be so much fun. It'd be like Oliver Twist in space.

Besides, there are already witches and secret twins in Star Wars. So there's no plot twist they could pull that wouldn't fit right into this universe.

Tiplee and Tiplar

I'm going to leap straight into Studio Ghibli-style fantasy for these two. Remember what Star Wars: Visions gave us? I want more of that. So let's devote an entire film to the beautiful animation, the sweeping landscapes, the untethered imaginings, and the pure and complicated love of a Ghibli film.

Tiplee and Tiplar are twin Mikkian sisters. Their species have a distinctive wreath of tendrils that trail from their heads like hair. Their skin color comes in a literal rainbow of possibilities. Animators would be able to bring these attributes to life in ways to which live-action productions could only aspire. Without the limitations of realism, Tiplee and Tiplar's world could be a wild explosion of creativity, depicting the Force in brand new ways.

There's also something that feels like a fairytale about these twin sisters that I think a Ghibli film could latch onto. They are both Jedi Masters and devoted to each other. Unfortunately, the death of Tiplar drove Tiplee into more aggressive tactics, which eventually cost her her own life as well.

But, these sisters also triumphed in a perfect demonstration of how love can give you strength. They rose together through the ranks of the Order, and they would not be parted from one another in the end. Not even in death.

Coupled with all the dramatics and high stake situations of the Clone Wars, Tiplee and Tiplar's story would be something beautiful and tragic. And frankly, it's been too long since Studio Ghibli ruined me.

Cin Drallig

Cin Drallig is the swordmaster of the Jedi Order, named for the man who made lightsabers cool again, Nick Gillard.

Mr. Gillard's own life story reads like the plot of a YA urban fantasy novel. Born to a family in England, Gillard spent his formative years in a military academy before running away to join the circus. There, the twelve-year-old took the stage as a bareback horse rider. Then, someone saw him and suggested he begin working in stunts for film, eventually becoming Mark Hamill's double in Return of the Jedi.

Well, Star Wars is the job that never ends. So it was no surprise that he came back to coordinate and choreograph the lightsaber battles in George Lucas' prequel trilogy. His early days as a performer come through in his work in how closely he pays attention to nuance, letting the characters guide the style of swordplay he chooses.

Speaking to IGN, Nick famously said of the fight in Revenge of the Sith, “I did write it like a husband and a wife having a fight […] For Obi, it's just about trying to absorb it long enough that he can get him back.”

This concept epitomized Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship and was a driving force for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. That Gillard can put so much detail into these fights is a testament to the depth of his understanding. It deserves to be put front and center after so much time.

Enter Cin Drallig, stage left. Here is the consummate swordsman of the Jedi Order. Here is a man who knows every form and kata and has dedicated his life to learning and passing them on. He is the combat expert.

He is the action hero of the Star Wars universe. He's their John Wick.

In 1999 The Phantom Menace changed what we thought a lightsaber duel could be. The duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Maul has set the bar for decades. It's time to jump over it again. Cin Drallig is just the Jedi to give us a high-octane, super-slick action film with all the creativity and thrill of John Wick. It's time Star Wars really let their warriors loose.

Barriss Offee

There's no denying that Barriss Offee was done real dirty. The same arc of The Clone Wars, which culminated in Ahsoka's exit from the Jedi Order, also revealed Barriss as the true villain. Considering Mirialan's are arguably Muslim coded, having Barriss bomb the Jedi Temple is widely regarded as having been a bad move.

Coming of age during the Clone Wars was highly traumatic and profoundly affecting. We can see the scars of war on Ahsoka, on Anakin, on Obi-Wan — and we can see them on Barriss. It is her suffering that leads to her disillusionment with the Jedi. This is a compelling and believable arc. But Barriss herself is thinly sketched and mainly left undefined. There is so much to her that we're missing.

Just as Star Wars: Visions gave Japanese artists a chance to bring their authentic perspective to Star Wars, a Barriss Offee story is the perfect vehicle for an Islamic one.

George Lucas intentionally drew on many world religions to inform his fictional Jedi Order, and much of Star Wars has drawn aesthetic inspiration from the Islamic world. Think of the influence of Tunisia on the look of Tatooine or how Ortaköy Mosque inspired the stately buildings of Naboo. Islam is already a part of this galaxy, and Muslim fans deserve better representation than Barriss' arc offered.

I want to see her reclaimed! I want to see her reframed! Flesh her out, and let her unique voice take center stage. Give me a sweeping, romantic adventure film full of magical realism.

Show me something that weaves folktale with fantasy, faith with feeling. Teach me something I never knew. Explore a new perspective. Expand what Star Wars can be, and let voices that have been kept quiet finally speak up and tell a different story!

Tarre Vizsla

This will be a hard sell, but trust me on this one.

Tarre Vizsla.

Now I know what you're going to say. You're going to say, “Hard sell? In what galaxy? I'm always here for my Mando king! Give me the pew-pew action war flick of my dreams!”

And I'm going to look down and whisper, “No.”

Because I've got another idea. I'm not going to say it's a better idea, but it is a slight left turn from the expected path –

Tarre Vizsla and his Mandalorians in a classic sword-and-sandal film.

The thought behind this conceit comes from how sword-and-sandal films (think Gladiator or Ben-Hur) contextualize history. While Star Wars ostensibly takes place “a long time ago,” there's something that feels contemporary about the world. Part of it is which parts of history the aesthetic draws on.

For example, the original trilogy contains WWII military outfits and 1970s shag haircuts. But, since Tarre Vizsla's story takes place about a thousand years before Luke Skywalker was even born, it'd be cool to show that distance visually. I'm not necessarily saying we've got to swap the spaceships for horse carts.

I am saying that lightsabers that look like long-swords might look sick being wielded by dudes driving electro-chariots.

But it's not just the aesthetic that makes this vibe so harmoniously. It's also the hero.

As the first and only Mandalorian Jedi (so far), Tarre Vizsla is famed for being the person who created the Darksaber. This unique black-bladed weapon eventually became a symbol of Mandalorian leadership and is the reason Din's in the trouble he is.

With such cultural importance, it makes sense that Tarre himself has become a mythic hero, and hey – mythical heroes are often the subject of sword-and-sandal films!

Although the genre has seen a significant decline in popularity in the past few decades, there is still potential in these larger-than-life heroes. These types of films and series excel at both action and subtle politics. Rome was famous for its intrigue. Tarre Vizsla could be the Hercules or Maximus of the Star Wars universe, and I, for one, would love to see him strap on those sandals.

Siri Tachi

Look, I'm going to say it. Rogue One is not a war film. I know it's a controversial stance, but we've all danced around it for far too long. When it was first announced, audiences were promised Saving Private Ryan in space. While Rogue One is an excellent Star Wars film and one of my favorite movies, it's not really equal to Spielberg's Ryan.

Where's the trauma? Where's the vulnerability? Where is the honest exposure of human weakness and the humble expression of human strength? Where's the horror of war? Veterans left the theatre during screenings of Spielberg's film because it was so accurate to their memories that they couldn't bear it.

Now, I'm not looking to re-traumatize anybody, but I think some of those critical elements are worth revisiting. In particular, I'm speaking about focusing on the consequences of war as opposed to glorifying and beautifying violence. After all, the best war films are, at their core, anti-war films. And Star Wars has always been vehemently that.

However, the one thing that's almost always been lacking in war films is a female perspective. The argument is that women are, historically, held back from the frontlines.

While that is true in some ways, it is demonstrably false in more. Women were integral to so many conflicts throughout history. The exclusion of their perspective has more to do with misogyny than historical accuracy and the idea that women are too weak for war.

Fortunately, Star Wars is not beholden to this perspective. For one, its history is fake and can be written however we like. And for another, we have already seen women at war in the stars. During the Clone Wars, Shaak Ti was in charge of training the clones on Kamino.

Stass Allie and Aayla Secura were seen commanding troops in Revenge of the Sith. Depa Billaba died defending her Padawan from clones during Order 66, and Siri Tachi…

Well, it's complicated. Recently re-canonized, Siri Tachi is suffering from that same illness shared by many characters who once had a back story but lost it at the moment of their resurrection. In Legends, she died during the Clone Wars cradled in Obi-Wan's arms, but that fate is kind of done to death, isn't it?

So why not have her go out like Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan? Let her shine like the noble Major Winters, or let her brood and fight the allure of battlefield nihilism like Captain Nixon in Band of Brothers. Get her dirty. Make her worn and weary. Show us the agony of battle and the beauty of humanity.

It's been ages since Spielberg and Hanks have given us any good food, and I'm hungry. Picture an HBO mini-series with the budget of Game of Thrones and the care and thoughtfulness of The Pacific. War is hell, and Siri's already come back from the dead once. She's not going back.

Quinlan Vos

This is an easy one. And after all your patience with my previous off-the-wall suggestions, I'll throw you a nice slowball here.

Quinlan Vos and The Path.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series perfectly set this up, and I'm honestly surprised no limited series has been announced yet. Quinlan Vos is one of Obi-Wan's best friends. During his flight from Mapuzo, the rebel spy, Tala Durith, revealed that Quinlan is not only alive, but he's helping smuggle Jedi survivors out past the Empire's reach.

Initially appearing as a background character in The Phantom Menace, Quinlan Vos has steadily grown to become a fan favorite. He's delightfully insolent when he shows up in The Clone Wars, providing levity in perfect complement to Obi-Wan's straight-man routine.

This is why I think Quinlan's series – while a natural spin-off to Obi-Wan Kenobi – should retain elements of that dynamic.

What I'm saying is I want him and Obi-Wan in a buddy-comedy heist show. Sure, it would mean revisiting Tatooine, but Quinlan's past work there as an undercover agent of the Jedi gives him more reason than most to be there. Plus, when escaping the Empire, it makes sense to lay low on the planet that it's furthest from.

Though I imagine laying low with Quinlan involves a fair few explosions.

Consider: Quinlan is doing his usual refugee run when the Rebellion informs him that their spies have discovered a particular asset that needs to be retrieved. This asset is on Tatooine. They need someone who knows the area and the customs and can blend in. Quinlan is a natural choice.

Once there, he recognizes a presence he hasn't felt since the good old days, and very quickly, he ropes Obi-Wan into helping him on his mission. The asset is in possession of the Hutts. This operation will require cunning and careful preparation.

Things go well until they get there and realize the asset is actually a person. Of course, this makes everything much more complicated.

Naturally, it all goes awry, and Obi-Wan and Quinlan are forced to rely on their wits, the Force, and trust to make it out alive.

It's just like Snatch in space. Iconic.

Oh, the Places We'll Go!

I'm a firm believer that Star Wars has the ability to stretch itself beyond the confines of its original genre, and these Jedi are just the ones to do it. They're less known, so there are fewer preconceived notions about them. That means audiences will be more willing to see them in places and styles Star Wars has never tried before. In the hands of the right creative team, they could go anywhere! Somewhere long ago, and far, far away, even.

Instead of stretching believability, Star Wars could begin to stretch genre! No more would the galaxy feel like it was collapsing in on itself with endless cameos and characters linked in the most inexplicable ways. Instead, these characters and their untapped potential could offer us something new and bring the Jedi back to life again!

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Author: Hannah Drew

Bio:

Hannah is a fangirl born of fangirls. As a child, she lived vicariously through her favorite stories, but as an adult, she became an actor so she could live them directly. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, Hannah has a deep love of storytelling and analysis. Having gotten her start in writing as a young book critic, she is excited to be expanding into the world of freelancing and fandom content.