Everyone knows what a Jedi is: defenders and peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic, the Jedi are a force known to maintain balance and freedom throughout the galaxy. Famous for their command over the Force and their spectacular skills with lightsabers, they are a total pop culture phenomenon. That said, none of the movies ever arrived at a clear consensus concerning just what makes a Jedi tick.
They are able to tap into the Force, which is some sort of vital essence present in all beings. Through intense training and meditation, they are able to manipulate it, though that hardly explains exactly what it is. There are tons of explanations in the hundreds of novels, TV shows, and video games in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, but it’s almost impossible to point to one specific answer as the be-all-end-all solution.
Of course, the Force is central to the plot of the Star Wars films, and it isn’t exactly immersion breaking. Audiences are usually pretty ready to accept that these sci-fi warriors wield powers beyond our plebeian comprehension. However, there are definitely a few useful details scattered throughout the series’ vast universe to clue us in on how exactly the Jedi are able to do what they do.
There is more information on Star Wars lore out there than could be housed in the Jedi archives, so it would be tough to claim any of these facts to be completely valid across all related media. With that in mind, here are twenty-five crazy details about Jedi Anatomy that most people may have overlooked.
25 Not Everyone Agrees With Qui-Gon About Midi-Chlorians
Let’s begin with the obvious: though controversial among fans of the Star Wars franchise, the Jedi are said to obtain their knowledge of the Force through microscopic life forms known as midi-chlorians. These tiny beings reside within the cells of all living things and whisper the will of the Force to those attuned enough to hear them. This is by and large considered to be an awful explanation for Jedi powers, but it is one of the more prominent ones. Plus, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was a major proponent of this line of thinking. Not everyone believes Qui-Gon’s assumptions to be true, of course, but his Phantom Menace explanation of the Force is the closest thing we have in the movies to a scientific explanation of this otherworldly power.
24 Not Everyone Has What It Takes To Become A Jedi
Some Jedi seem to believe that everyone in the galaxy has the ability to commune with the Force should they properly hone their skills. Yet, the reality is that there were an extremely small number of Jedi at any given time, and proper jedi biology is rare. Though most fans don’t want to break things down to a midi-chlorian count, it seems that certain beings are just born with a stronger connection to the Force than others. These lifeforms are exceedingly rare, though, and, even at their height during the clone wars, the Jedi ranks hardly exceeded 10,000. While it is certainly true that not all Force-sensitive beings were Jedi, those with the skills to make it as one must have been nigh-on non-existant.
23 Connections To The Force Can Be Broken
A high midi-chlorian count would seem to guarantee someone an eternal connection to the Force, but that isn’t always the case. Though it never quite came up in the movies, there are a few instances in the Expanded Universe of Dark Side practitioners severing a Jedi’s ties to the Force using a power known as Force Drain. It seems that only extremely powerful Sith are able to pull this off, but there are a few instances of strong Force wielders being cut off from the Force as a result of this tactic. Force Drain is also believed to extend the lives of Dark Side users, and it is thought that Darth Sidious made use of this technique to extend his life and remain agile and powerful in his old age.
22 The Dark Side Can Force Immortality
As previously mentioned, the Dark Side ability Force Drain is thought to extend the lives of those powerful enough to make use of it, and it likely played a role in the extraordinary longevity of some ancient Sith Lords. The Sith don’t emphasize the afterlife, though some have been known to defy the laws of mortality. Instead, they focus on prolonging their natural lives, which would make this tactic incredibly vital to any Sith. Though a consecrated Jedi wouldn’t wish to use abilities of this nature, a Gray Jedi—a Jedi who has renounced some Light Side elements and embraced some Dark Side techniques and philosophies—may be able to greatly extend their lives using this method.
21 Jedi Can Be Cloned
It may seem impossible to authentically replicate the incredible power of a Jedi Knight, but such a feat was managed in Timothy Zahn’s 1993 Star Wars novel The Last Command. The creation of a crazed Joruus C'baoth, himself later revealed to be a clone, Luuke Skywalker, a clone of everyone’s favorite Tatooine moisture farmer, was cloned from the severed hand of Luke Skywalker. The two even dueled later on in the novel in The Emperor’s base on the planet Wayland, and the original Luke ended up as the victor. The story is every bit as insane as it sounds, but it proves that Jedi physiology can be accurately replicated. This poses a bit of a conundrum, as it seem strange that certain lost rebel assets weren’t either cloned or restored in some way if such technology were available.
20 How Long Was Luke On Dagobah?
Everyone familiar with the 1980 sci-fi classic film The Empire Strikes Back—which should be quite literally every single Star Wars fan out there—should know that a significant chunk of the movie dealt with Luke Skywalker seeking out exiled Jedi Master Yoda for training purposes. There’s a huge debate in the Star Wars community surrounding exactly how much time Luke spent on Dagobah, the planet on which Yoda was hiding, but most seem to agree that, though it seemed like a mere few days, it may have been months, or even years. Jedi learners seem to need years to adequately hone their skills, and, though Luke was mostly self-taught, he couldn’t have drastically enhanced his skill in such a small amount of time.
19 Force Ghosts Are A "Light" Side Thing
The Sith put very little faith in the afterlife: though there are massive temples and mortuaries said to house the essences of deceased Sith on their homeworld of Korriban, these Dark Side Force users aren’t all that concerned with what will happen to them after they have passed on. Instead, they focus on the here and now. Such is not the case with the Jedi, as they are known to live on as Force ghosts once their natural lives have come to an end. This technique was utilized by Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-wan Kenobi, Yoda, and very likely will be used by Luke Skywalker himself in the upcoming finale to Disney’s sequel trilogy. Knowledge of such an afterlife may be what allows some Jedi to fearlessly jump into battle or to maintain their placid mindsets.
18 Jedi Mind Tricks Are Used On Both Sides (For Better Or Worse)
These aren’t the droids you’re looking for: as demonstrated by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, Jedi are able to manipulate the minds of lesser-willed beings via the Force. This is something of a controversial tactic, though, as most Jedi Knights are against the idea of manipulating free-thinking humanoids. That said, Obi-wan often used it as a means to avoid confrontation and violence, and he only pulled out his lightsaber in the Mos Eisley Cantina when his methods of persuasion failed. This technique was thought to be exclusive to the Light Side of the Force, but Kylo Ren was shown using similar tactics in The Force Awakens, so it may not be a Jedi-specific ability in the new canon.
17 Block It Out, Or Let It In?
The Jedi Order strives to be impartial in most cases, and that is a doctrine which they rigorously apply to their own lives. In order to stave off the Dark Side of the Force, they train themselves to suppress their emotions and remain placid and neutral at all times. Most Force-sensitive beings seem to believe that giving in to one’s emotions is a certain path to the Dark Side, so the Jedi are quick to block these things out. By that same token, the Sith are eager to feed on their emotions and rely on their anger to fuel their abilities. Palpatine constantly urged Anakin Skywalker to use his anger, and this ultimately drove him to the Dark Side.
16 Force Heal
Jedi are known to have the ability to dramatically increase the rate at which the body heals itself, which means that superficial wounds are not a concern for skilled light side users. However, since lots of people in the Star Wars universe are able to recover quickly from certain injuries if they get to a bacta tank soon enough, this technique is only really useful for more extensive medical issues, though it isn’t always totally effective. Since this doesn’t seem to be an ability available to the Sith, tons of fans have speculated what may have happened had Anakin returned to the Light Side after his battle with Obi-wan and been treated by competent Force healers. He may not have had to wear a life-sustaining suit at all.
15 Oxygen Not Required
Some Jedi are known to be able to use the Force to keep their bodies from shutting down in low oxygen environments. Though it is unknown for how long this ability may be used, it does fill a few small plot holes in George Lucas’ movies. In the opening scene of The Phantom Menace, plenty of fans questioned how Obi-wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn were able to survive in a room full of toxic gas, and it turns out that they made use of this little-known tactic. Vader is also thought to have used it in Rogue One during the movie’s climactic finale, so it isn’t entirely exclusive to the Jedi. This also may explain why Leia was able to survive for so long in the vacuum of space in The Last Jedi, though she only had a rudimentary knowledge of the Force.
14 Who Was Anakin’s Father?
Fans have been questioning just who Anakin Skywalker’s father may have been ever since The Phantom Menace debut in theaters nearly twenty years ago. While Shmi Skywalker claimed that there was no father and that she had no explanation for her son’s birth, knowledgeable fans will know that it was brought about by Darth Plagueis’ Great Experiment through which he attempted to Force midi-chlorians into creating life. Plagueis’ experiment relied on powerful Sith alchemy, but these results may be attainable through undiscovered Light Side methods. Either way, this proves that Jedi can be created semi-artificially, which could have been a great help to the traditionally celibate Jedi Order.
13 Not As Clumsy Or Random As A Blaster
During the height of the Republic, newly-ordained Jedi were brought to the far-off planet of Ilum in the Unknown Regions to fashion their own lightsabers. These unique and delicate weapons require an incredible amount of skill and dedication to craft, and the process hinges on special Force-imbued materials known as Kyber crystals. Ilum was loaded with these, and Jedi would journey there to find and bond with a particular crystal, which would change color based on the warrior to which it had bonded. This is the explanation given for the different colors of lightsabers, and it explains why Sith Lords almost exclusively carry red sabers.
12 The Wrong Side Of A Lightsaber
Plenty of Star Wars fans have rolled their eyes and scoffed as an uninitiated friend asked how these guys manage to swing their laser swords around without accidentally removing any of their own appendages in the process. The obvious answer? Well, they’re Jedi, duh! Yet, from a more objective viewpoint, it does seem like quite an incredible feat. The Jedi and Sith are the only ones able to wield such powerful weapons because their enhanced reflexes and Force-aided perceptive abilities allow them to do so safely. There are a few known non-Force users to handle the weapon, chief amongst them being General Grievous from Revenge of the Sith. On the other hand, Finn had a pretty rough go of it in The Force Awakens.
11 Who Is Master Yoda?
Though he may have been one of the most powerful Jedi to ever live, Lucasfilm has always remained fairly tight-lipped concerning Master Yoda’s origins and species. Fans know almost nothing about him, and, as far as anyone knows, he may well be an extremely aged Kermit the Frog. There are said to be trillions of species living in the Star Wars galaxy, and yet we have never come across any other alien even remotely similar to Yoda. Aside from the controversial Yuuzhan Vong, there aren’t many species or races known to have come from Wild Space. It could very well be that Yoda originated from a place so mind-bendingly far away that his chances of running into another member of his species are virtually null.
10 A Disturbance In The Force
A close connection with the Force can grant Jedi access to information which they couldn’t possibly get from anywhere else. Though Darth Sidious was able to do it in the prequel films, it is nearly impossible to sneak any kind of knowledge past the Jedi Council. In fact, the most attuned Force-sensitive beings are able to detect major events as they unfold, even if they are light years away from where they happen. This was made evident in A New Hope when Obi-wan Kenobi was able to sense the destruction of Alderaan right after the Empire enacted their plan to eliminate it. In The Last Jedi, Leia displayed similar abilities when she felt her brothers’ passing despite their near-galactic separation.
9 Battle Meditation
Sith are particularly dangerous in combat thanks to their reliance on emotion: while the placid ways of the Jedi usually help them to remain balanced yet defensive in battle, Dark Side Force practitioners are able to harness their feelings to boost their morale. Fortunately, some Jedi are able to boost the emotional wellbeing of their compatriots through a Force power known as Battle Meditation. In some Expanded Universe material, this rare ability was known to increase the morale, physical abilities, and stamina of Republic forces in certain battles. Inversely, it could be used against an enemy to mentally overwhelm them and wear down their will to fight.
8 When 900 Years Old You Reach…
As previously stated, little regarding Yoda’s backstory has actually been confirmed in the Star Wars canon. In fact, fans can’t even be totally sure of his age. In Return of the Jedi, the little green being implies that he is exactly 900 years old, though this may have been an example of hyperbole. That said, Yoda certainly seemed old, and he is one of the only Jedi seen in the movies to be physically hindered by his advanced years. This could have quite a bit to do with the physiology of his species, but he’s the only Force user we ever see using a cane to get around. Even Count Dooku, an aged man by human standards, was extremely spry. Though Yoda could still fight with the best of them, he nonetheless seemed burdened at all times.
7 The Release Of Self
One of the greatest ironies of the Sith doctrine is that, though they often seek eternal life, the Dark Side of the Force cannot grant them that power. The Jedi, on the other hand, are able to live apart from their physical bodies, though the technique can only be achieved through an intense dedication to the Light Side of the Force. Yet, acceptance into the Jedi Order doesn’t instantly grant newcomers eternal life. This incorporeal survival tactic used by Obi-wan and Yoda in the movies was initially uncovered by Qui-Gon Jinn, who later taught it to other powerful Jedi. Life is still very precious to the Jedi, and most won’t be able to artificially extend it in the way that many masters of the Force have.
6 Continuity Issues
This may seem like a nitpick, but astute, eagle-eyed Star Wars fans have noticed that the amount of toes Yoda has varies throughout the series. In the prequels, he seems to have six total toes, while he appears to have eight in the original trilogy. This likely has to do with his transformation from puppet to fully-animated entity in the prequels, but it's strange to think that those who developed the little Jedi’s CGI model didn’t pause to make sure he had an accurate amount of toes. The loss of two toes may be rather easily explained away, but the addition of two toes is almost cause for concern. Could it be that Yoda knew about a few peculiar body-modification Force techniques?