10 Greatest Black Jedi in Star Wars Ranked by Importance
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The entire Star Wars galaxy takes representation to an entirely new level because different people, races, and species populate this fictional world. Of course, humans and near-human characters still dominated the galaxy, especially when we look at the fact that most of the characters in Star Wars tend to be human or, at the very least, near-human in terms of their species.
Considering that many Star Wars characters are human, there are plenty of different characters with colored skin. Representation has always been very important in Star Wars, especially when we look at the Jedi Order, which doesn’t care about race or species. That’s why plenty of Black characters have found themselves serving the Jedi Order. So, with that said, let’s look at the greatest Black Jedi characters in Star Wars.
10. Kai Brightstar
Young, talented, brave, and headstrong, Kai Brightstar is one of the main characters of ‘Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures,’ an animated series that takes place during the time of the High Republic. Of course, this series follows the exploits and training of Jedi younglings still trying to make their way up the Jedi Order. As such, the series was always meant to be a show for kids.
Kai seems to be the leader of the trio of younglings featured in this series. He is the bravest out of all of his friends and is incredibly close to Jedi Master Yoda, who often appeared in the series to oversee the training of Kai and his friends. But considering that he was still a youngling during his storyline, Kai Brightstar doesn’t find himself higher on this list of important Black Jedi.
9. Adi Gallia
Adi Gallia wasn’t human but was a Tholothian, a species of near-human sentient beings with human features. The only difference is that they tend to have scaly craniums and head tendrils that sprout out of their heads. Of course, Adi may not be human, but she was portrayed as a Black character. That’s why she still belongs on this list, even though she may not exactly be similar to all of the other Black characters.
She was active during the final years of the old Jedi Order and was a Jedi Master that served the Jedi High Council. Adi was said to be one of the greatest pilots in all of the Republic, and that’s why she headed squadrons of Jedi pilots during the events of the Clone Wars. However, Adi saw an unfortunate end in a duel with Savage Opress, who used his horns to kill her by goring her midsection.
8. Keeve Trennis
Keeve Trennis is another Black Jedi that served the Jedi Order during the High Republic era. That means that she existed hundreds of years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Keeve was portrayed as a very optimistic and independent Jedi Knight who served as the Padawan of Jedi Master Sskeer before she was knighted.
One of the things that made Keeve stand out was that she was always relaxed and comfortable while meditating to understand more about the Force. Of course, she was also known for cussing a few bad words here and there, which only made her one of the most endearing characters in the High Republic storyline of Star Wars. She was particularly skilled in using a dual-bladed lightsaber that she sometimes dual-wielded, depending on the circumstance.
7. Lula Talisola
Lula Talisola is a character that also comes from the High Republic storyline of Star Wars. She was a Padawan assigned to the Star Hopper cruiser with a few of her friends. She trained and worked hard to become the greatest Jedi of her era, so she excelled in her studies.
However, because she started to doubt her abilities as a Jedi due to her lack of experience, she was in the middle of the Nihil conflict. As such, she rose to the challenge and became stronger than ever. And one of the things that made her strong was that she was mentored by some of the most prominent Jedi of that time, including Jedi Master Yoda himself.
6. Reva Sevander
Reva Sevander, also called the Third Sister, was a member of Darth Vader’s Inquisitorius during the reign of the Empire. As such, she was a fallen Jedi that used the dark side of the Force to become stronger. She also hunted down Force-sensitive individuals and Jedi survivors during the Imperial era. Of course, she had a very important storyline in the ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series.
She started out as a Jedi youngling training in the Jedi Temple when Anakin Skywalker and the clones attacked during Order 66. Reva saw her friends dying, and she could only survive by hiding under the corpses of her friends. She ended up joining the Inquisitorius to become strong and close enough to Darth Vader to take her revenge. And while she failed to defeat Vader, she wanted to take her anger out on Luke before realizing that revenge was not the right path for her.
5. Trilla Suduri
Known as the Second Sister, Trilla Suduri was a powerful member of the Inquisitorius during the Imperial era. She was a Jedi Padawan under Cere Junda’s guidance during the Republic’s time. However, during Order 66, she and her master were captured and tortured by the Empire. While Cere could escape, Trilla was not lucky enough, as her despair led her to the dark side.
As an Inquisitor, Trilla hunted Cal Kestis down during the events of ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ to get her hands on the Jedi Holocron that contained the locations of all of the known Force-sensitive individuals of the galaxy. Cal defeated Trilla and was willing to return to the side of her former master before Darth Vader arrived and executed her himself for showing weakness.
4. Kelleran Beq
Introduced as the host of ‘Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge,’ Kelleran Beq was a Jedi Master known for his lightsaber skills as he trained younglings in the Jedi Temple. He was particularly strong in using the dual-wielding style of Jar’Kai, which was why he was called the “Sabered Hand.”
While he was only a character on a gameshow, he eventually became a canon character in the Star Wars universe when he was featured in an episode of ‘The Mandalorian’ season 3, where he was shown as the one who rescued Grogu from the clones during Order 66. More of his story may be shown in the future, especially because Grogu’s past is still a mystery.
3. Cere Junda
Introduced in ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,’ Cere Junda was a Jedi Master during the days of the Jedi Order and was the master of Trilla before the Empire captured them during Order 66. While Cere escaped from the Empire, the experiences that she went through while she was being tortured were more than enough for her to lose her connection to the Force. However, she re-established her connection during the ‘Fallen Order’ events and became Cal Kestis’s teacher.
Junda eventually joined up with a group of spiritual people on Jedha during the events of ‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.’ Darth Vader found out that she had been restoring the Jedi Archives. As such, he arrived and dueled with Cere, who showcased her power as a Jedi Master by nearly killing Vader. It was only due to a last-minute move on Darth Vader’s part that he could defeat Cere, but it was clear that he was injured and badly beaten after that fight.
2. Finn
Technically speaking, Finn was never a Jedi because he was a Resistance member who fought with his friends to defeat the First Order after he defected from the Stormtroopers. In that regard, he was one of the first Stormtroopers that realized the evil ways of the First Order. And he eventually became one of the heroes that saved the day for the Resistance during the events of the sequel trilogy.
Of course, Finn was hinted to be sensitive to the Force throughout the entire sequel trilogy. He even wielded a lightsaber well enough in a duel against Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. But his Force sensitivity wasn’t explored too much until the end of the trilogy, where it was clearly established that he could sense the Force. And while John Boyega is now done playing his role as Finn, this character could have been one of the first Jedi that Rey trained after re-establishing the Jedi Order.
1. Mace Windu
Undoubtedly, the greatest Black Jedi in Star Wars history is Mace Windu. Played by Samuel L. Jackson, Windu was a bad m*ther f****r that could stand up against the strongest Force wielders in the galaxy and defeat them. He was probably second only to Jedi Master Yoda regarding his influence on the Jedi Order. As such, he was clearly one of the most prominent Jedi during the Clone Wars.
Mace Windu, of course, was so skilled in using his purple lightsaber that he could tap into the dark side without even falling to its temptation. His lightsaber combat form, called Vaapad, was so powerful that he was able to defeat Emperor Palpatine in a straight-up lightsaber duel. If it weren’t for Anakin Skywalker’s betrayal, there was no doubt that Windu would have killed Palpatine to end the oppression of the Sith once and for all.
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