For years, a running joke has circulated through the Star Wars fandom born from the seemingly endless parade of Jedi who managed to survive Order 66. Despite the purge seen in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Chancellor Palpatine declared the Jedi traitors and unleashed the clone army upon them, subsequent stories across all types of media – from television to video games to novels – have introduced a surprising number of survivors. From Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda to Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, and countless others in comics and books, the sheer number of lucky Jedi who survived Order 66 can be seen as at odds with the supposed near-total annihilation of the Jedi Order. However, revelations regarding George Lucas’ original plans for his Star Wars sequel trilogy suggest that this long-standing meme, far from being an exaggeration, was actually rooted in his vision.
As it turns out, George Lucas always envisioned a galaxy where a surprising number of Jedi survived the purge, making the topic not just a fan joke but a confirmed pillar of his planned universe.
George Lucas Envisioned a Resilient Pocket of the Jedi Order
Lucas’ own notes and quotes about his planned Star Wars sequels reveal a very different landscape from what eventually made its way into canon. According to Lucas, his sequel trilogy would have picked up a few years after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, with Luke Skywalker actively working to rebuild the Jedi Order. Importantly, Lucas said that Luke “puts the word out, so out of 100,000 Jedi, maybe 50 or 100 are left.” This completely recontextualizes the impact of Order 66. For decades, fans were led to believe that perhaps a dozen or so Jedi truly escaped the purge‒ a small, desperate handful scattered across the galaxy. The official lore, particularly in the original trilogy, outwardly confirmed that Obi-Wan and Yoda were the last of their kind, making Luke Skywalker even more important as the “new hope” for the Jedi Order and galaxy as a whole.
Lucas’ statements and original plans change all of that. A range of 50 to 100 surviving Jedi is a far more substantial number than what most had ever considered. While even 100 is still a tiny fraction of the estimated 10,000 Jedi Knights during the Republic’s peak, it suggests that the Order, though deeply wounded, was not entirely destroyed.
This larger number of survivors set up a fascinating backdrop for Luke’s efforts to rebuild the Order. Instead of searching for a needle in a galactic haystack, he would have been seeking out a scatter, yet rather sizable group. This route also gives a more plausible explanation for the frequent discovery of Force-sensitives throughout the galaxy and the potential for a quicker, though still arduous, re-establishment of the Jedi. It implies that the Empire’s reach, while vast, was not entirely omnipotent, and that pockets of resistance and survival, even among the Jedi, were possible.
This Version of Events Legitimizes Every Jedi Survival Story
The implications of Lucas’ plan extend beyond simply the numerical; they offer a validation for the sheer amount of Jedi survivor stories that have been added to Star Wars lore since the original trilogy. For years, new comics, novels, and animated series introduced more and more Jedi who somehow managed to escape. Some argued that such additions undermined the dramatic weight of Order 66, turning a devastating massacre into something less definitive. However, if George Lucas himself planned for 50 to 100 Jedi to survive, then the various stories that have emerged – featuring characters like Cal Kestis, Kanan Jarrus, Cere Junda, Quinlan Vos, and countless others across the franchise– are not just creative liberties taken by new storytellers. Instead, they align perfectly with the original creator’s unspoken understanding of the galaxy’s post-Order 66 reality.
This retrospective view turns what was once perceived as fan service or narrative inconsistency into a canonical ode to Lucas’ original vision. It suggests that the Star Wars universe, even in its darkest hours, harbored more hope and more hidden resilience than many initially assumed. Luke’s task in Lucas’ sequels would have been less about training the very last Jedi and more about gathering beings that were scattered and traumatized, but still as strong as ever. The joke about the surprising number of Jedi survivors, therefore, turns out to be a testament to a truth that was always embedded in the mind of the man who started it all.
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