What Is A 'Dark Jedi' In Star Wars?

In 1977, the world was introduced to "Star Wars." Since then, George Lucas' sci-fi epic has expanded into a massive franchise worth billions. The first film, "A New Hope," was quickly followed by toys and comics, and eventually, additional films, television series, tie-in novels, and more contributed to growing the "Star Wars" lore. These additional, non-movie materials were known as the "Expanded Universe," but then Disney purchased "Star Wars" from George Lucas for $4.05 billion in 2012. And once "Star Wars" was in the House of Mouse's hands, everything changed.

Almost immediately following the buyout, the decision was made to shuffle almost the entire "Star Wars'" Expanded Universe into a new designation: "Star Wars" Legends. The movies and whatever Disney produced moving forward remained canon, but decades of history were relegated to Legends status — including the concept of the Dark Jedi.

In Legends, a Dark Jedi is someone who isn't a Jedi, but they aren't a Sith either. Instead, a Dark Jedi is someone who denies the light side of the Force or adheres to the dark side but has no loyalty to either. Throughout Legends, a number of Dark Jedi appear, a mix of fallen Jedi, former Jedi, and evil Force-sensitive individuals, all with their own agendas. Initially, many were former Jedi who fell to the dark side of the Force, but the term's definition soon expanded to include all manner of unaffiliated Force-sensitive people from a galaxy far, far away. Here's everything you need to know about the Dark Jedi in "Star Wars" Legends, but don't expect to see too many pop up in canon anytime soon, save for those who have already been introduced.

The concept of a Dark Jedi was introduced in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel, "Heir to the Empire." In that book, a Dark Jedi is defined as any Jedi who fell to the dark side prior to the creation of the Sith. Once the Sith established itself, the term faded from use. Some elements of Zahn's work, like Grand Admiral Thrawn, have made it into canon from Legends material. Still, the Dark Jedi from the Expanded Universe are somewhat loosely defined, but generally, they're dark-side users that aren't affiliated with the Sith Order.

Darth Sidious resurrected the concept of the Dark Jedi, using the term to refer to the people serving under him. This was a loophole to the Sith's Rule of Two, which limits the organization to only two Sith existing at any given time.

In "Star Wars," a Jedi is a person who belongs to the Jedi Order and is Force-sensitive. The Jedi Order established rigorous training and evaluation criteria for how a potential Jedi can advance through the ranks, from Youngling to Padawan and Knight to Master and Grand Master. Dark Jedi have no such program, nor are they members of a group that would require anything of the sort. Many are simply fallen Jedi who embrace the dark side of the Force but don't join the Sith. As such, the biggest difference between a Jedi and a Dark Jedi is their connection to the Force and their lack of an organization to belong to, like the Jedi Order. They tend to follow their own path, and every one of their decisions is made to fulfill a specific goal, which can become a relentless obsession for a Dark Jedi.

Strength in the Force is a matter of perspective, and determining whether or not a Dark Jedi is stronger than a Jedi or Sith involves several factors. Midi-chlorians, introduced in "The Phantom Menace," are a means of measuring a person's physical connection to the Force. People with a high M-count are typically more powerful than those with lower counts; Darth Sidious, Grand Master Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker are all examples of Force users with high M-counts.

Still, strength and power are not solely determined by M-count, as a person's skill with a lightsaber is another important factor. On top of that, a Dark Jedi is fine with crossing lines a Jedi wouldn't, so in that respect, a Dark Jedi has the potential to be stronger than a Jedi. In terms of comparing a Dark Jedi to a Sith, there's less to consider. Most Dark Jedi are more than willing to erase the same ethical lines as a Sith, but unlike the Jedi Order's ancient enemies, a Dark Jedi isn't limited in the same way.

For eons, the Sith Order has practiced Darth Bane's Rule of Two, which stipulates that at any given time, only two Sith are allowed to exist. "Two there should be. No more, no less," the rule states. "One to embody power, the other to crave it." Because of this, as long as the Sith actually follow their own rules, a Dark Jedi could conceivably recruit others to their side, boosting their strength through numbers and creating a possibility of overpowering the Sith. In a way, because of their lack of limitations, a Dark Jedi is conceivably stronger than either Jedi or Sith.

Since Disney acquired "Star Wars," Dark Jedi have not appeared in any new projects — and then, Disney+ released "Ahsoka," which introduced Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). Skoll is a former Jedi who trained Hati as his Padawan, and though they haven't been named as such, since they're neither members of the Jedi Order nor Sith, fans have concluded that the duo is Disney's interpretation of Dark Jedi. (Some have speculated they may be Grey Jedi, which is an entirely different classification we explain here.)

In Legends, there are far more Dark Jedi who've appeared in comic books and novels without actually making the transition into canon. Among these many examples are the so-called Seven Dark Jedi, a group of former Jedi who banded together under the leadership of Jerec (pictured above). One character who could be considered a Dark Jedi in canon is Asajj Ventress, who started out as a Jedi, fell to the dark side under Darth Tyranus (Christopher Lee), and eventually became something of an anti-hero and bounty hunter.

Because of the Rule of Two, Ventress couldn't be a Sith under Dooku. Regardless, there are many characters who could conceivably be Dark Jedi despite Disney's lack of labeling them as such, such as the Inquisitorius, a group made up of fallen Jedi who embraced the dark side of the Force but were never named as Sith in order to maintain the Rule of Two. Unfortunately, it seems Disney is reluctant to apply the terms Dark or even Grey Jedi to its new characters.