Since the first film in the late 70s the Star Wars franchise has always featured clear-cut heroes and villains. Franchise creator George Lucas himself described the Sith and the Empire as the bad guys something that has been very obvious as they used planetdestroying super weapons on civilian targets. But with the prequel trilogy Lucas began portraying the Jedi as imperfect heroes leading to a certain sect of the fanbase viewing them as the franchise's secret villains.
Fans denouncing both the Jedi and the Sith caused the term Gray Jedi to rise to prominence. The term had two different definitions the first being Force-wielders who simply operated outside of the Jedi Code and the second being those who walked the line between light and dark. However neither Lucas nor Disney have recognized Gray Jedi as an official term or featured such characters in their stories. Here is why despite their popularity in the Star Wars fanbase Gray Jedi have never been canon.
Characters Fans Think Are Gray Jedi (But Aren’t)
Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn has often been described as a Gray Jedi because of his willingness to act outside the wishes of the High Council. However he still wielded a traditional Jedi green lightsaber refrained from tapping into the dark side of the Force and always served the greater good. The defining trait of the light side has not been passiveness as fans have believed but selflessness according to George Lucas. Qui-Gon best exemplified that trait and aligned himself with the light side of the Force not the politics of a flawed Republic or Jedi Order. If anything he was more of a Jedi than many of the other Jedi in the prequel era. As seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series Qui-Gon was able to manifest himself as a Force spirit after death an ability that was open only to those who fully embraced the light side.
Another character fans have called a Gray Jedi is Ahsoka Tano. During the Clone Wars Ahsoka left the Jedi Order after losing trust in the place she once called home. What fans have lost sight of is that she did not make her decision because she wanted to stop being a Jedi but rather because she felt the Jedi had lost their way. In fact Ahsoka returned to fight alongside the Jedi for the rest of the Clone Wars and into the Galactic Civil War. Fans have focused very hard on her saying the line I am no Jedi in Star Wars Rebels but Dave Filoni who created the character directed and co-wrote the episode in which she said that line had some interesting things to say. He argued that in some ways by being so selfless and rejecting a lot of paths that would have given her power she’s more Jedi like than even some characters who claim to be Jedi.
Star Wars Has Shades of Gray, But Is Still About Good and Evil
Fans have forgotten that the Jedi and the Sith are not exactly representatives of the light and dark sides of the Force. Luke Sky walker in Episode VIII declared that the Force did not belong to the Jedi and to say that if the Jedi die the light dies is vanity. It was for this reason that Luke originally wanted the Jedi to end not because he wanted Gray Jedi but because he wanted the light to rise from a worthier source. Just because the Jedi strived to follow the light side and be a force for good it didn't mean that they were always aligned with the light. If they had been they would never have ushered in an era of darkness and helped Palpatine rise to power. Who the Star Wars franchise portrayed as the good guys did not always do the right thing whether intentionally or unintentionally.
The moral complexity fans have wanted in Star Wars has always been present without there being Gray Jedi. Villains such as Maul Count Dooku Asajj Ventress and Kylo Ren were not characters who were simply evil. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Fallen Order also introduced fans to Reva and Trilla both former Jedi who experienced major traumatic events. Those who fought against the Empire did not have their hands clean either. Andor's Luthen Rael recognized that he used the tools of his enemy to defeat them burning his decency for someone else's future and burning his life to make a sunrise that he knew he would never see. Luthen was more of a pragmatist than the more idealistic Mon Mothma and the more extreme Saw Gerrera knowing sacrifices had to be made when taking down a fascist dictatorship.
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