The Gray Jedi In Star Wars, Explained
Star Wars fans who spend their time scrolling through Wookieepedia or swapping fan theories about The Mandalorian often encounter some interesting fandom terms, like Gray Jedi. When Disney added Lucasfilm to its brand, creatives decided to create more space for original stories and characters by ret-conning much of the existing Star Wars lore. While the three original films, prequel trilogy, and series like Star Wars: The Clone Wars remained canon, other media (namely books and games) that had been considered expanded universe (EU) content were labeled as non-canonical.
In the canon Star Wars timeline, the periods of time stories are set in include: The High Republic era, the Fall of the Jedi, the Reign of the Empire, the Age of the Rebellion, the New Republic, and the Rise of the First Order. Everything outside this timeline is considered Legends. Put simply, if something happened in a book that’s now labeled Legends, don’t assume it holds true in the canonical Star Wars universe.
That brings the conversation back to the term Gray Jedi. Over the course of Star Wars history, the term has been used to describe Jedi Knights who follow their own ambitions, even against the Jedi Council’s wishes (think: Qui-Gon Jinn) as well as Force-sensitives who dabble in both the Light and Dark sides of the Force, as in the 2003 RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. So, what is a Gray Jedi, and can fans expect the term to be used in future canonical Star Wars releases?
