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. The film was released on May 19, 2005, and it would be the final Star Wars film directed by George Lucas before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney seven years later.
Fans knew going into Revenge of the Sith that this was where we'd witness Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader, but a major question remained: what happened to the other Jedi? The film answered this with Order 66, a sinister component of Palpatine's plan where Clone Troopers, who had fought alongside the Jedi throughout the Clone Wars, suddenly turned against them and executed them. Given there were thousands of Jedi at the time, it was logical that some would evade Palpatine's grasp—not just the few we knew had to because they appeared in the Original Trilogy.
Among the few dozen Order 66 survivors introduced in canon Star Wars stories, we've decided to rank the top 10 who have made a significant impact. Some of these survivors lived only a short time after Order 66, while others managed to survive much longer into the timeline. In some cases, their ultimate fate remains unknown. Regardless, all these Jedi lived to fight another day after Palpatine issued the command to "Execute Order 66."
For our list, we've established some ground rules: Characters must have spent some time under the Jedi Order's jurisdiction before Order 66, whether as a Padawan, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, or even a young Jedi Initiate. This excludes Force-users like Maul and his former Master, Palpatine, as well as young Force wielders like Jod Na Nawood, who never officially joined the Jedi Order or set foot in the Jedi Temple, even if they received some training from a Jedi.
We debated whether Asajj Ventress should be included. She spent over 20 years with Jedi Ky Narec, who declared her his Padawan and trained her in the Force on Rattatak. However, Ventress never visited Coruscant or met any Jedi Council members during this time, and her subsequent turn to the Dark Side under Dooku complicates her Jedi status. Therefore, we've designated her as an honorable mention.
Ranking the Jedi Who Survived Order 66
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