MOVIE NEWS – More and more evidence points to the fact that the old Jedi order was lured to the dark side even before Star Wars, during the era of the High Republic. What happened to the guardians of the side of light?

Star Wars fans are familiar with the prophecy of the Chosen One, that a being born fatherless would restore the balance of the Force. It was Anakin Skywalker who filled this role, but before doing so, he himself experienced a turn to the dark side when he came under Palpatine’s influence. But was he the first Jedi to do so? Or have there been people who have left the side of the light before?

Lucasfilm’s latest transmedia initiative, Star Wars: The High Republic, tries to answer that. The story takes place 200 years before the pre-Star Wars trilogy, when the Jedi Order was still thriving and keeping peace in the galaxy. But that didn’t last long, as a new threat emerged: a terrorist group called Nihil, who wreaked havoc on every planet they visited.

Many Jedi were killed or seriously injured in the battle against Nihil. Among them was Sskeer, a Trandoshan warrior who had lost a close friend and student. Since then, Sskeer has been unable to process his grief and anger, and it has affected his relationship with the Force. In the second issue of the Star Wars: The High Republic comic book, he kills a Nihil attacker with brutality and rage, suggesting that he has begun to slide towards the dark side.

Sskeer isn’t the only Jedi to have issues with the Force. In the Star Wars: The High Republic novels, we can meet several characters who are tempted by the dark side. Examples include Reath Silas, a young Padawan with a fear of unknown galactic regions; or Vernestra Rwoh, a precocious Jedi Knight who uses risky methods to use the Force; or Stellan Gios, an esteemed Jedi Master who has doubts about his own decisions.

All of this leads to the conclusion that the balance of the Force was upset long ago even in the era of the High Republic. The Jedi Order lost coherence and humility and became more prone to selfishness and fear. This facilitated Palpatine’s plan to overthrow the Order and create the Empire later during the Clone Wars. So the prophecy of the Chosen One did not only apply to Anakin Skywalker, but also to the entire Jedi Order, which had to rediscover the true nature of the Force.

Source: ScreenRant