Who Was The First Jedi? Everything We Know From Star Wars Canon & Legends
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Star Wars is finally exploring the origin of the Jedi Order in a brand-new Dawn of the Jedi-era movie directed by James Mangold. This films breaks the long tradition of media sticking close to the Skywalker saga era in the Star Wars universe, as it will be set nearly 25,000 years before A New Hope. Star Wars initially teased the origin of the Jedi in Star Wars: The Last Jedi by revealing the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, and while it didn’t delve too deeply into the Order’s founders, there are still hints as to what the first members were like.
The Dawn of the Jedi movie is uniquely placed in the Star Wars timeline, since it explores an era that has barely ever been covered by any Star Wars material before. Because it’s set so many millennia before everything else, it will likely feature a completely new cast of unfamiliar faces. There is almost no lore or guidance for Dawn of the Jedi to follow, leaving it free to pave the origin of the Jedi without needing to adhere to anything already established.
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What We Know About The First Jedi In Star Wars Canon
The very first Jedi in Star Wars canon is a nameless figure known as the Prime Jedi. He was likely the builder of the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, seen in The Last Jedi. According to the Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary, the mosaic of stones in the chamber of the Temple depicts the Prime Jedi. The mosaic is reminiscent of a yin and yang symbol, with one side of the Prime Jedi being dark while the other is light. It’s possible that the Prime Jedi didn’t exclusively serve the light side, but balanced the two sides of the Force similarly to a gray Jedi.
As the first Jedi, the Prime Jedi was likely the one who developed the Jedi Code that governs and dictates how a member of the Order should utilize the Force. Nevertheless, their original Code may have looked radically different from the rules the Jedi follow 25,000 years later. Many of the Prime Jedi’s founding rules for the Jedi Order were recorded in the sacred Jedi texts, and Yoda seems to believe that many of their ideals were antiquated or boring, since he tells Luke Skywalker that the books were not page-turners. In any case, the Prime Jedi’s beliefs were pivotal enough to establish a religion that lasted for millennia.
Aside from their title as the Prime Jedi, not much else is known about them in Star Wars canon. One of the ancient Jedi texts known as the Rammahgon detailed some of the stories about the Prime Jedi, as well as information pertaining to the Sith, Exegol, and Sith wayfinders. Rey utilized this text in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to help discover more about her enemy. Another important detail about the Prime Jedi is that they did, in fact, wield a lightsaber, which they are holding in the mosaic depiction on Ahch-To. Whether this is the first-ever lightsaber is unclear.
What Star Wars Legends Revealed About The First Jedi
Star Wars Legends had a completely different story for the origin of the Jedi. One of the most notable differences is that the Jedi Order was not formed by one Prime Jedi, but by four founders. Star Wars: The Old Republic revealed that Jedi Masters Cala Brin, Garon Jard, Rajivari, and Ters Sendon came together to form the Order. Similarly to Hogwarts’ four founders, each Jedi Master developed and contributed to a different branch of beliefs. When compiled, their pilosophies formed the structure for the initial Jedi Code, which would later evolve into the Jedi Order.
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Unlike canon, the first Jedi in Star Wars Legends originated the Order on Tython instead of Ahch-To. While the founding Jedi never appeared in Star Wars: The Old Republic in the flesh, ancient holograms recovered from Tython helped show what each Master contributed to the Jedi Code. It was Cala Brin who first espoused the idea that the Jedi must uphold justice. She believed that a Jedi should set aside any and all emotions that got in the way of such a goal. Meanwhile, Garon Jard helped prove that the Jedi must seek galactic peace, and was also known to gather Jedi in meetings that would later evolve into the Jedi Council.
Jedi Master Rajivari was regarded as one of the wisest Jedi, and it was he that trained the first Jedi Lore Keepers. He founded the Fount of Rajivari, which would later become known as the Jedi Archives. Similarly, Ters Sendon believed that the Jedi should collect and guard the wisdom in the galaxy. Sendon was the only founding member of the Order who was a Zabrak, and was also the only one to not be human. Unlike the sole Prime Jedi in canon, each of the four first Jedi in Star Wars Legends contributed to a different area of the Order.
Disney’s Star Wars Will Properly Explore The Dawn Of The Jedi
The Dawn of the Jedi Star Wars film will finally be able to flesh out the origins of the Jedi Order in a way that canon and Legends never did. It will be interesting to see if Star Wars will borrow some ideas from the original founders in Star Wars: The Old Republic and introduce other founding characters of the Order, or if it will stick to canon and place the founding solely on the Prime Jedi. In either case, the Dawn of the Jedi movie will show the seeds that will later grow into the Jedi Order many are familiar with.
In addition to exploring the origin of the Jedi Order, the movie could also explore the origin of the Force itself. Whether it borrows from George Lucas’ original ideas for the Force remains to be seen, but it does need to be careful in how much mystery it dispels. One of the original allures behind Star Wars is the mystery behind how the Force actually works, aside from the “feeling” Yoda makes it out to be. It will be thrilling to see who the Prime Jedi is and why they originally decided to use the Force for good.
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Dawn of the Jedi will likely challenge viewers’ perception of the Jedi Order as a whole. Since the Jedi seen in the prequel era are said to have fallen from their once great stature in the High Republic, many perceive the Prime Jedi as the perfect exemplification of the Jedi itself. But like any origin story, the movie will likely show the Prime Jedi’s shortcomings, as well as their strengths. The Dawn of the Jedi film has yet to get a release date or any cast announcements, yet it has already set itself apart as one of the most unique Star Wars movies imaginable.