Star Wars‘ new TV show about the Jedi is exactly what Episode X of the Skywalker Saga should have been. As far as upcoming Star Wars TV shows go, Ahsoka season 2 is the only live-action installment announced that is yet to be released.
This is because Star Wars’ future will focus more on movies than TV shows, something that has not been the case since 2019. That has not stopped Lucasfilm from developing more animated Star Wars shows, however, with several causing a lot of hype.
For instance, Star Wars: Visions season 3 has recently been released on Disney+. Interestingly, two episodes included in Star Wars: Visions will serve as the basis for a new TV show in the franchise, based entirely around the Jedi Order. With that in mind, it becomes clear that this TV show is what Lucasfilm should have used as the story for Episode X of the Skywalker Saga.
Star Wars: Visions’ “The Ninth Jedi” Is The Perfect Post-Rise Of Skywalker Story
Star Wars: Visions season 1, episode 5 was titled “The Ninth Jedi,” which received a sequel episode in season 3. Beyond that, Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi will be a fully animated show in its own right, continuing the story established in the Visions episodes. In many ways, this story was perfect for the Star Wars timeline after The Rise of Skywalker.
The story focuses on a character named Kara, the daughter of a lightsaber smith named Lah Zhima. In Star Wars: Visions season 1, Lah is shown making lightsabers for the seven remaining Jedi of the galaxy. These Jedi were invited to an aerial base orbiting Lah and Kara’s planet by Margrave Juro, a Jedi Master in his own right.
However, bounty hunters working for the Sith attack Lah and Kara, taking the former captive as the latter flees with the lightsabers, taking one for herself. Kara makes it to Juro’s base as the master gives one of the lightsabers to Ethan, a young Jedi. The other six Jedi arrive and reveal themselves as secret Sith, dedicated to wiping out the remaining Jedi.
Ethan, Juro, and Kara succeed in defeating five of the Sith, allowing the last, named Homen, to repent upon his surrender. Kara becomes “The Ninth Jedi,” taken from the fact that there were initially eight, including Ethan, Homen, and Juro. The four then set out to rescue Kara’s father from the Sith-controlled planet.
Star Wars: Visions season 3 continued this story, showing Kara getting separated from her companions and helping a droid named Teto. Kara eventually reunites with Juro, Ethan, and Homen to once again seek out Lah. Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi will continue this story.
Of all installments of Star Wars: Visions, “The Ninth Jedi” was the best-received episode. Be this for its strong characters, unique take on Star Wars lore, visceral action, good animation, and solid voice cast, the episode was revered. This explains its sequel in Star Wars: Visions season 3, and the ordering of its own show.
Evidently, the story has resonated with Star Wars fans and critics alike. With this in mind, it becomes clear that this type of story should have been the basis for Episode X of the Skywalker Saga, rather than a Star Wars trilogy by Simon Kinberg or Rey’s New Jedi Order movie.
News about both projects has been scarce, proving that a solid, fleshed-out story like “The Ninth Jedi” may have been better.
“The Ninth Jedi” Is Not Canon, But It Could Very Well Have Been
As with every other episode of Star Wars: Visions, “The Ninth Jedi” is not canon to the Star Wars movies or mainline TV shows. The same goes for the upcoming Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi, which will simply tell its own story in a singular continuity. That said, the story format could have easily been made to fit Star Wars canon.
One possibility is merging the concept of “The Ninth Jedi” with the planned idea for Rey to build a new Jedi Order. For instance, the story of Episode X could have started with the same premise: Kara and her father living on a planet with the latter building lightsabers for a mysterious Jedi Master looking to rebuild the Order amid rising Sith threats.
This Jedi Master could have been revealed as an older Rey Skywalker, 15-25 years after The Rise of Skywalker, as is planned with Rey’s Jedi Order movie. The first movie could have been simple, with Rey, Kara, and other Jedi saving Kara’s father from the Sith and bounty hunters. The story could then have expanded into Episodes XI and XII.
Rey could have rebuilt the Jedi Order beyond the allies she gained in Episode X. This, of course, is just one possible way that the concept of “The Ninth Jedi” could have been Star Wars canon. If it had been, Disney had the perfect lay-up for a new Star Wars trilogy that, with the benefit of hindsight, we know would have resonated with audiences.
The Ninth Jedi Show Will Feel Like The Episode IX Sequel We Never Got
If Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi goes as is expected and features Kara, Ethan, Homen, and Juro rebuilding the Jedi to fight the Sith of the galaxy, it will be very similar to what the sequel – or sequels – to The Rise of Skywalker will be. Therefore, The Ninth Jedi will feel like the sequel to the film that we never got or, at least, haven’t got yet.
It is no secret that Star Wars has shifted focus to its TV efforts since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, driven by the divisive reception to the sequel trilogy. Lucasfilm evidently thought it was best to focus on stories that would land, like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Andor, ratherthan continue the controversial stories of the sequels.
This explains why no sequels to Episode IX have been developed. As alluded to, Rey’s Jedi Order and Simon Kinberg’s trilogy will seemingly offer this, after over six years, but neither project seems closer to shooting than when they were announced.
The Ninth Jedi, then, can be viewed as The Rise of Skywalker‘s spiritual sequel. Audiences will encounter a story with everything one could want from the iconic franchise, one that feels like it could be Star Wars canon and a sequel that fleshes out the next era of the galaxy after The Rise of Skywalker.
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
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Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
