Star Wars: The Truth About Jedi Knights And Sex From George Lucas & Mark Hamill

Can Jedi have sex? Given that "Star Wars" is a fanciful space opera typically aimed at children, it's kind of a silly question. And yet, it has plagued fans for years, as different entries in both the Disney canon and the old "Star Wars" Expanded Universe have offered many different potential answers to the question.

Of course, when it comes to matters of lore, there's no one better to answer them than the creator himself. And thankfully, George Lucas is on record discussing the matter of Jedi and their intimate personal lives. "Jedi Knights aren't celibate," Lucas told BBC News during promotion for "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" in 2002. "The thing that is forbidden is attachments — and possessive relationships."

Mark Hamill has weighed in on Luke Skywalker's view on relationships specifically, echoing Lucas' sentiment that Jedi don't need to remain celibate. When asked by a fan on Twitter in 2019 if his character died a virgin, Hamill responded, "Make up your own backstory. It's undetermined, but in the one I made for him myself, the answer is: no." So then what's the deal? Why do the "Star Wars" prequels in particular make Anakin's relationship with Padmé Amidala so taboo, to the point that he has to cut himself off from even his closest Jedi friends? Well, it's all in what Lucas said back in 2002. Attachment, not any individual act, is the thing that's forbidden. But should it be?

Though George Lucas makes the Jedi code on attachments and sex sound simple, the movies prove that it's anything but. According to him, during the era of the prequels, attachment is the only thing that's truly forbidden. That means that Jedi could have sex if they wanted to, as long as they didn't become possessive of the other people involved.

The problem is that "attachment" is a completely subjective thing. Some would say that it's impossible to be intimate with another person and not become attached. In "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," we learn that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a romantic relationship with Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore when they were both young. When Obi-Wan reconnects with Satine later in life, he seems terrified of allowing his feelings to return, presumably because doing so would create a new attachment.

Does marriage intrinsically mean that a forbidden attachment has been formed? If Anakin and Padmé had simply not tied the knot, would their association have been permitted? And what about children? Having kids with someone would probably dictate a necessary attachment, but then again, every race in "Star Wars" has different traditions when it comes to raising a family. It's possible that Anakin could have admitted his relationship and still been accepted by his peers. It's his possessiveness that turns him to the dark side, but at the same time, Yoda hardly makes it easy for anyone to acknowledge that kind of secret.

Many corners of the "Star Wars" universe show healthy, long-term, committed relationships between Jedi and other characters, all without any danger of someone falling to the dark side. Take Kanan Jarrus in "Star Wars Rebels," who for years has a relationship with Hera Syndulla and even has a child with her. Of course, the Jedi Order doesn't exist during this time, and Kanan never completed his Jedi training. But even still, the fact that he and Hera live together so peacefully shows that this kind of relationship doesn't have to be a problem. The old Expanded Universe is filled with even more examples, most notably Luke Skywalker himself, who marries fan-favorite character Mara Jade shortly after "Return of the Jedi."

These counterexamples throw into sharp relief just how dogmatic and detached Yoda and his order become by the end of the Clone Wars. The gray area of what is and isn't dangerous is so messy under the code that the council opts simply to ignore most would-be offenses. Obi-Wan knows all about Anakin and Padmé — Season 7 of "The Clone Wars" confirms this — but it's easier for him to simply put it out of his mind than to offer real support to his friend. The Jedi prioritizing dogma over compassion is a big part of what pushes Anakin to the dark side.

But yes, technically, Jedi can have sex.