Since the beginning of "Star Wars" fans have grown to love and hate both the Jedi and the
Sith, but there is a much wider galaxy out there of Force users.
Here are some of the best.
Although the Jedi Order stresses maintaining "balance in the Force," it traditionally favors
the light side, which promotes defense, passivity, and peace over darker traits like fear, anger,
and hatred.
However, other Force-sensitive beings truly are all about balance.
One such being is Bendu, an ancient being introduced in the "Star Wars Rebels" third
season episode "Steps Into Shadow."
A Force-sensitive entity who lives on the planet of Atollon, Bendu claims to represent
the center of the Force, residing between the light and dark sides.
Refusing to take sides in any conflict, Bendu has still accumulated vast knowledge of the
Force over many years.
Although Bendu claims not to interfere in the affairs of the Jedi or the Sith, he does
aid Force-sensitive beings, including Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus.
After Kanan loses his sight in a battle, the imbalance he feels awakens Bendu.
Not only does Bendu teach Kanan to use his other senses to compensate for his lost sight,
but he also counsels Kanan on his fears about losing his apprentice, Ezra Bridger, to the
dark side.
Bendu continues providing counsel to both Kanan and Ezra in later episodes.
While he seems largely benevolent, he's also fiercely neutral and even claims it may be
the will of the Force to destroy the Jedi.
"Star Wars" often focuses on stories of good versus evil, but Bendu reminds audiences that
there are always shades of grey in between.
A shaman and the Clan Mother of the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Mother Talzin occupies an unusual
place in the Force.
At first, it seems she was affiliated with Darth Sidious, who promises to trade dark
side secrets with her.
Instead, Sidious abducts Talzin's son, Maul, and trains him as a Sith Lord.
Talzin seeks revenge against the Sith, eventually using her magicks to resurrect Maul and empower
his brother Savage Opress so they could battle Sidious.
These feats cause her to lose her physical body, yet she survives as a spirit and continues
affecting events on the physical plane.
Even after she's permanently destroyed, Maul and the others she'd helped continue fighting
in the Clone Wars and beyond.
Interestingly, Talzin claims to not have a natural connection to the Force, although
the Nightsisters derive their powers from the dark side.
Her abilities are based on Dathomir-style dark magicks, allowing her to use a form of
Force lightning, see the future through a crystal ball, and transform others.
Most notably when she gives Maul a new pair of mechanical legs.
While she undoubtedly uses the dark side, her vendetta against the Sith makes her a
very different player in "Star Wars" power struggles.
When it comes to choosing the most notable Jedi, several candidates come to mind.
Jedi Master Yoda trained Jedi Knights for centuries.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the Jedi Order's most accomplished knights.
However, Luke Skywalker, the focus of the original trilogy, stands out as the most significant
Jedi of his time.
What's remarkable about Luke is that he often walks alone on his journey toward becoming
a Jedi.
Although he receives training from both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda and studies texts left by
Jedi Masters from previous eras, the Jedi are largely extinct by the time Luke begins
his training, requiring him to learn in unconventional ways.
This no doubt influences his scrappiness, determination, nobility, and power.
The Republic's Jedi Order fell before Luke's birth largely because of the Jedi's hubris,
casting doubt on their teachings and morals.
Luke also allows himself to be guided by the Force itself rather than one teacher, which
allows him to become a very different type of Jedi.
Although he favors peace and serenity, he's not afraid to tap into his darker emotions,
as we see in his more aggressive fighting style in "The Mandalorian" Season 2's episode
"The Rescue" or in his fight against Darth Vader in "Return of the Jedi."
At his best, he's one of the most balanced Jedi Masters and can attain almost unbelievable
levels of power through his connection to the Force.
There's a reason why he's known as "The Chosen One."
Having been both Jedi Knight and Sith Lord, Anakin Skywalker walks a path that, while
devastating, ultimately is drawn by the will of the Force.
His incredibly high midi-chlorian count gave him incredible potential and helps him achieve
mighty Force powers, yet his early life as a slave, coupled with the Jedi Order's inability
to understand him, made him very unstable.
"You're a slave?"
"I'm a person, and my name is Anakin."
Ultimately, Anakin's distrust of the Jedi, desire for power, and fear of losing his loved
ones cause him to fall to the dark side and become Darth Sidious' apprentice Darth Vader.
A battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi leaves him stripped of much of his power, yet even then he shows
he was still obeying the will of the Force by destroying both the old Jedi Order and
eventually the Sith in "Return of the Jedi," two institutions that, in Vader's time, no
longer bring balance to the Force.
In the process, he allows his son, Luke, to bring about a new Jedi Order potentially better
suited for its time.
As a Sith Lord, Darth Vader is utterly ruthless and consumed with self-loathing.
Although he's able to find redemption by killing Darth Sidious and living on as Anakin Skywalker's
Force Ghost, his journey is filled with pain and suffering, showing that the Force can
be quite violent in its attempts to bring balance.
The apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano has been many things over her lifetime.
Initially, it looked like she would become a member of the Jedi Order, training as a
padawan under Anakin and serving as a general during the Clone Wars.
However, Ahsoka becomes disillusioned by the Jedi Order and leaves after being falsely
accused of committing crimes.
She spends several years traveling incognito before resurfacing as the agent "Fulcrum"
in "Star Wars Rebels" to aid the emerging Rebel Alliance.
Later still, she strikes out on her own again, in adventures we'll see in the upcoming "Ahsoka"
Disney + series.
Although people like the Mandalorian refer to Ahsoka as a Jedi, Ahsoka has made it very
clear that she does not associate herself with the Jedi Order anymore.
Nevertheless, she continues to practice her Jedi skills and wields two white lightsabers,
signifying her affiliation with neither Jedi nor Sith.
While she continues to help those in need and offer counsel to Jedi like Luke Skywalker,
at the end of the day, Ahsoka is one Force-sensitive individual who defies classification.
A member of Yoda's unnamed species, Grogu is affiliated with many groups.
Raised in the Jedi Temple before the events of "The Mandalorian," Grogu had been trained
by many Jedi Masters and had tremendous Force potential.
However, his path to becoming a Jedi was cut short when Order 66 caused clone troopers
to exterminate most of the Jedi.
Hidden away by an unknown benefactor, Grogu is eventually found and protected by Din Dijarin,
the Mandalorian, who comes to care for him like a son.
While the Mandalorian helps Grogu reunite with the Jedi, the Child eventually decides
this path is not for him.
Forced to choose between a life with the Mandalorian or a life with the Jedi by Luke Skywalker,
Grogu chooses to reunite with Din Dijarin, who looks like he'll train Grogu in the ways
of the Mandalorians in "The Mandalorian" Season 3.
If Grogu does indeed decide to use his Force abilities as a Mandalorian foundling, he won't
be the first one.
The legendary Tarre Vizsla was a Force-sensitive Mandalorian who was inducted into the Jedi Order.
He crafted the Darksaber, a weapon that came to signify the rule of Mandalore.
Although Luke claims Grogu could only live as a Mandalorian or a Jedi, it's still very
possible Grogu can do both.
Members of Yoda's species live centuries, meaning the 50-year-old infant has many different
career paths in his future.
The Inquisitors offer a way for the Sith Order to work around the "Rule of Two" established
by Darth Bane.
"Always two there are.
No more, no less.
A master and an apprentice."
Although the rule stipulates that there can only be two Sith at one time, there are still
many dark side users in the galaxy, and Sith Lords like Darth Sidious seek to exploit them.
This leads to the creation of the Inquisitors, Force-sensitive agents tasked by Palpatine
with the job of hunting down any Jedi who survived Order 66.
Many of these Inquisitors are former Jedi themselves, including a Pau'an Jedi Temple
guard who swore allegiance to the Dark Side and became the Grand Inquisitor.
As the leader of the other Inquisitors, the Grand Inquisitor answers directly to Darth Vader.
While he isn't a Sith Lord, the Grand Inquisitor functions as a parallel to Darth Vader.
Much like Anakin Skywalker, the Grand Inquisitor fell to the dark side after becoming resentful
that the Jedi Order did not share its secrets with him.
He also regularly deceives and betrays his fellow Inquisitors, including the Third Sister,
Reva, who sought to usurp his title in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," showing that the worst dark side
users didn't have to be Sith.
A member of the Guardian of the Whills, a religious order that promotes unity with the
Force, the blind warrior monk Chirrut Îmwe is a devout believer in the Force.
Although he isn't a Jedi, Chirrut appears to be Force-sensitive and can use the Force
to perceive his surroundings and accomplish miraculous feats.
In "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," he takes out an entire gang of Stormtroopers using
only a wooden stick, blows a ship out of the sky with his lightbow, and walks through a
firefight without getting hit by a single blaster shot, although he dies in a subsequent
explosion.
Chirrut also feels the Force around certain objects and beings.
He can sense a kyber crystal — the power source of a Jedi's lightsaber — around Jyn
Erso's neck.
Later, he feels the Force moving "darkly" around Cassian Andor, and correctly predicts
Cassian is preparing to assassinate someone.
While his powers appear low-level compared to the more exotic abilities of the Jedi and
the Sith, Chirrut's faith in the Force is unshakeable, and he willingly submits himself
to its will, up to his death.
As the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and the sister of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa
possesses the potential to wield Force powers.
Unlike her father and brother, however, Leia chooses not to follow the path of the Jedi,
opting instead to lead freedom fighters as a general.
That's not to say that Leia hasn't manifested Force abilities, or that she's incapable of
tapping into her innate powers.
Even as a child, Leia is able to resist an Inquisitor mind probe in "Obi-Wan Kenobi,"
a feat she replicates as a young adult in "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope."
"Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable.
It will be some time before we can extract any information from her."
She also has an instinctive connection to her brother, Luke, and can sense his presence
in "The Empire Strikes Back" and guide the Millennium Falcon back to him.
In "The Rise of Skywalker," we learn that Leia had been trained by Luke, but stopped
after believing her son would die at the end of her Jedi path.
Nevertheless, Leia still uses her Jedi abilities to survive in battle after being blown out
to space and later manifests as a Force Ghost along with Luke.
Some may feel that someone with her degree of Force potential should be a Jedi, yet Leia
invariably charts her own course.
Older than even Jedi Master Yoda, Maz Kanata is over a thousand years old by the beginning
of "The Force Awakens."
Although she tells Rey,
"I am no Jedi, but I know the Force."
Maz is Force-sensitive and has knowledge of the Force.
This enables her to chart her own path and be a largely benevolent being who still has
no problem dealing with the scummier folk in the "Star Wars" galaxy.
Indeed, Maz gains a reputation as a "pirate queen," hosting traveling smugglers and criminals
at her castle, which resembles a somewhat cleaner version of Tatooine's Mos Eisley Cantina.
It's not surprising that she develops a friendship with Han Solo or refers to his first mate,
Chewbacca, as her "boyfriend."
Nevertheless, Maz follows her own code, prohibiting any of the criminals who sought sanctuary
at her home from engaging in politics, war, or fighting.
Maz's role in the story lies in her talent for collecting antiques and treasures from
across the galaxy.
Many of these items speak to her through the Force, letting her know which relics she needs
to protect and safeguard, particularly Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, which was passed down
to Luke by Obi-Wan Kenobi, which she then passes on to Rey.
Maz's long lifespan and ability to safely navigate through the criminal underworld make
her the ideal guardian for Jedi relics and other forgotten treasures, while her reverence
for the Force ensures these items go to the right owners in time.