Editorial: The New Jedi Order – Potential Locations for Rey Skywalker’s Jedi Academy

While the future of big-screen Star Wars storytelling is still largely wrapped up in mystery, we were treated to some concrete details about one of the movies during the last Star Wars Celebration. Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, we will have a story set 15 years after the end of the Skywalker Saga, in a new era known as the New Jedi Order. This story will tell the rise of a new group of Jedi who have to face a challenging galaxy while being taught the ways of the Force by Jedi Master Rey Skywalker.

 

In the second of two articles (you can check out the first one here), I will speculate on where Rey might choose to train her Jedi candidates. With a whole galaxy of planets to choose from, the list is virtually endless, and there’s a good possibility the location will be somewhere entirely new, but I’ve tried to narrow the list down to locations that I believe have a good reason to be chosen as a starting ground for her Jedi Padawans.

 

Tatooine

 

Rey visiting the Lars homestead

 

Starting where the Skywalker Saga ended would be a nice nod to the past. We last saw Rey flying the Millennium Falcon across the deserts of Tatooine and exploring the abandoned Lars homestead before claiming the name Skywalker with the blessing of Luke and Leia as Force ghosts. While she put a close to the story of the Skywalkers by burying the iconic lightsabers, I couldn’t help but feel that maybe we were getting a look at the future.

 

Personally, I think it would be amazing to have the simple moisture farm grow and expand as a training ground for Jedi. I can picture Rey gazing into the twin sunset before turning and looking down to the circle courtyard, now filled with Jedi sparring with lightsabers and lifting rocks. Tatooine is such an iconic location, and it would be great to have a foothold into a location that has had such significance across the previous saga as we move into the future.

 

Ahch-To

 

 

Perhaps the most likely location of the list is where Rey had her first training in the ways of the Jedi. The island temple is remote but comes ready-built and with its own in-house caretakers. I’m sure the natives would be happy to see the Jedi finally return to the temple they have preserved for so long — as long as Rey can learn to stop wrecking the place!

 

The location has a number of thematic opportunities as well. Firstly, as she was trained by a cynical Luke, she questioned the traditions of the Jedi, and we could see Rey take the Jedi in a new direction as she “grows beyond” the teachings of her master. Also, much of Rey’s teaching — through the sacred Jedi texts — comes from truly ancient Jedi, so we may see her explore some older teachings and pass them on to her learners.

 

With James Mangold’s movie almost certainly featuring Ahch-To, there’s also an opportunity to have a connection between upcoming films at the opposite ends of the timeline, which only increases its likelihood in my opinion.

 

Ajan Kloss

 

Rey training on Ajan Kloss

 

Another location where Rey trained was Ajan Kloss, home of the Resistance base after the loss of D’Qar. She was put through her paces by Leia Organa while she spent time studying the ways of the Jedi and seeking to connect to the Jedi of old through meditation. Having spent some time here with the Resistance, Rey would have a personal attachment to this place. And as the place where the galaxy’s heroes came together to celebrate the end of the Sith Eternal and the First Order, it’s a symbol of hope and rebirth for both the Jedi and the galaxy.

 

This fertile jungle offers plenty of opportunities for students to commune with nature and learn the ways of the Force, and I can see an extended version of Rey’s training course set up for students to run.

 

Yavin 4

 

 

In the same vein, Rey could adopt the old Rebel base on Yavin 4 as the location for her academy. Yavin 4 played a huge role in the Expanded Universe as Luke Skywalker converted the old Massassi temples into a bustling Jedi Academy. Star Wars has been leaning hard into the Legends timeline lately, so it would be a huge nod to fans of those stories to have this as the main Jedi location moving forward.

 

Yavin 4 has no personal connection for Rey though; aside from the being a fan-pleaser, that diminishes its possibility as a location. But it’s also a symbol of hope over tyranny, so Rey might choose it for those reasons. We know Andor is returning to Yavin as it approaches Rogue One, making the location more fresh in fans’ minds by the time the film releases, so you never know.

 

Coruscant

 

Coruscant

 

While Rey has no connection to the ecumenopolis and former capital of the galaxy, it is probably the place we most associate with the Jedi thanks to the Prequel Trilogy. It also comes with a ready-built temple, though some remodelling may be required! The New-New Republic (or whatever the post-First Order government is called) might want to have the Jedi close to home as they try to rebuild the galaxy once again. It would be interesting to see Rey face the new challenge of navigating galactic politics as she masters the ways of the Force.

 

In an unused concept for The Clone Wars, it was going to be revealed that the Jedi Temple was built on top of Sith ruins. This could make an interesting story to explore; perhaps some of her students are drawn to explore the ruins of the temple and awaken an ancient dark side spirit…

 

Ossus

 

Ossus in The Book of Boba Fett

 

Ossus was the site of Luke Skywalker’s training temple that tragically fell to an attack by Ben Solo and the Knights of Ren. It also has a rich and storied history as a sacred Jedi site going back thousands of years in the Legends timeline. We saw the origins of this site more recently in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6, where we saw Grogu train with Luke while a swarm of ant-droids built the modest structures in a jungle clearing. Rey heard from both Luke and Kylo the fate of the temple and the Jedi who trained there.

 

As we explore the New Jedi Order, it might be a powerful symbol for Rey’s Jedi to rise from the literal ashes of what came before, reinforcing Yoda’s lesson that the greatest teachings come from failure and moving on from it.

 

Tython

 

 

Another sacred site to the Jedi is Tython, which was their place of origin in Legends. We saw its modern incarnation in the second season of The Mandalorian when Grogu sat on a seeing stone to call out to a Jedi, a call which was answered by Luke Skywalker. It’s this aspect that makes it a potential candidate as Rey might be able to use the stone to summon Force-sensitives from across the galaxy.

 

Batuu

 

Jedi Padawan Ady Sun’Zee on Batuu in Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.

 

Okay, this last one I’m adding more because of the licensing opportunity that it provides with Disney Parks. Disney may be looking to refresh the experience in their parks, and what better way than to link it to the next big Star Wars film. With Rey already a featured character at the parks, all it takes is a quick costume change to bring her in as Jedi Master Rey Skywalker! The VR experience Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge has stories set in a High Republic-era Jedi research facility on Batuu, so it’s not a total stretch that Rey might base herself there…

 

As I said at the beginning, there’s a big galaxy out there full of potential locations (we’ve just been introduced to a new Jedi temple on Tenoo thanks to Young Jedi Adventures), but I’ve tried to pick out a few that I think Rey might realistically choose. Where do you think Rey might base her New Jedi Order? Sound off in the comments below!

 

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A teacher from Wales in the UK, Aled has loved Star Wars ever since that Star Destroyer flew over his head and blew his mind.

Aled Morgan

A teacher from Wales in the UK, Aled has loved Star Wars ever since that Star Destroyer flew over his head and blew his mind.

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