This month marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the concluding chapter in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Released on May 19, 2005, this film was the last Star Wars movie directed by George Lucas before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney seven years later.
Anticipation was high for Revenge of the Sith as fans knew it would showcase Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader. A major plot point was the fate of the Jedi Order, addressed through Order 66, a sinister plot by Palpatine where Clone Troopers, who had fought alongside the Jedi during the Clone Wars, turned against them and executed them. With thousands of Jedi in service, it was logical that some would escape Palpatine's grasp, including those we knew had survived into the Original Trilogy.
Among the several dozen Jedi who survived Order 66 and have been introduced in canon Star Wars stories, we've ranked the top 10 who've had a significant impact. Some of these survivors lived only briefly after the order, while others made it much further in the timeline, with a few fates still unknown. All of them, however, managed to live and fight another day after Palpatine's command to "Execute Order 66."
For our list, the criteria were clear: the characters must have been part of the Jedi Order before Order 66, regardless of their rank—be it Padawan, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, or Jedi Initiate. This excludes Force-users like Maul or his former master, Palpatine, as well as young Force wielders like Jod Na Nawood who were never officially part of the Jedi Order.
There was some debate about whether Asajj Ventress should be included. She spent over 20 years with Jedi Ky Narec, who considered her his Padawan and trained her on Rattatak. However, Ventress never visited Coruscant or met the Jedi Council before Ky Narec's death, and later turned to the Dark Side as Dooku's apprentice. This makes her status as an official Jedi ambiguous, so she's listed as an honorable mention.
Ranking the Jedi Who Survived Order 66
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