Chosen One

A foretelling of old, originating from the Jedi order and inscribed on a holocron by a Jedi mystic of ancient times, spoke of the Chosen One. This individual was destined to bring equilibrium back to the Force through the annihilation of the Sith. The prophecy further suggested that the Chosen One would emerge as one of the most powerful Force-sensitives in the galaxy, rivaling the might of the most celebrated champions of the Jedi Order. Similarly, the Sith prophecies also alluded to an individual born of the Force. Referred to as the Sith'ari, these writings predicted the rise of a being of immense power, mirroring the Jedi's expectations for the Chosen One. Based on his investigations, historian Beaumont Kin posited that the Sith'ari and the Chosen One were, in fact, the same entity.

While the Jedi had long discussed balance within the Force, there was no universal agreement on its meaning for the galaxy. Some argued that parity between the light side of the Force and the dark side of the Force was essential for balance, while others believed the light represented the Force's natural state, with the dark side causing imbalance. Contrasting the Jedi's perspective, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious advocated for the liberation of the dark side and the suppression of the light side as the means to achieve balance in the Force.

The Sith's insatiable greed and lust for power fueled internal conflicts, leading to their near-extinction and defeat at the hands of the Jedi. By the time of the Invasion of Naboo, the Jedi Order believed the Sith had been extinct for a millennium. Unbeknownst to them, the Sith Lord Darth Bane survived the ancient Sith's demise and chose to impart his knowledge to a single apprentice, Darth Zannah, thus establishing the Rule of Two. This rule limited the Sith ranks to a Sith Master and a Sith apprentice for the subsequent thousand years.

Beyond the Jedi prophecy, the legend of the Chosen One was intertwined with three ancient Force wielders—"the Ones," known as the Father, the Son, and the Daughter—who dwelled in the ethereal realm of Mortis. The Father maintained equilibrium between the Daughter and the Son, who embodied the light and dark sides of the Force, respectively. The Father sought to enlist the Chosen One as his successor, convinced that only he possessed the power to preserve balance on Mortis in the event of the Father's death.

Forty-one years prior to the Battle of Yavin, Shmi Skywalker gave birth to a son named [Anakin Skywalker](/article/anakin_skywalker]. Despite her inability to explain it, there was no father involved in her child's conception. During the initial decade of young Skywalker's life, both he and his mother lived as slaves on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. Originally owned by Gardulla Besadii the Elder, the Skywalkers changed ownership after the Hutt lost them in a podracing wager with the Toydarian junk dealer Watto. During his time with Watto, Skywalker befriended Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, known for his fascination with prophecies.

Jinn, assessing Skywalker's inherent Force strength through observation, commissioned a blood test to determine the boy's precise potential. The results confirmed an unprecedented quantity of midi-chlorians in Skywalker's cells; the exact count remained unknown as readings exceeded the chart's limits. However, the test verified a minimum of twenty thousand midi-chlorians, surpassing the count of every Jedi, including Grand Master Yoda. Additionally, Shmi revealed the secret of Skywalker's miraculous birth to Jinn.

In light of these revelations, Jinn concluded that Skywalker was a vergence in the Force—the Chosen One destined to restore ultimate balance. After Skywalker's liberation from slavery, he accompanied Jinn to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, seeking to commence his training as a Jedi. The Jedi High Council evaluated Skywalker's Force potential through tests and sought to understand his mindset. While his future was obscured in their Force vision, the High Council detected significant fear within him, including the fear of losing his enslaved mother on Tatooine. Yoda expressed concern that Skywalker's fear could lead to the development of other traits conducive to the dark side, such as anger and hate, ultimately leading to suffering. Consequently, the High Council declined to authorize Skywalker's training due to his age and inherent fear.

Jinn remained steadfast in his belief that Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One. He intended to train Skywalker himself but was fatally struck down by the Sith Lord Darth Maul during the Battle of Naboo in 32 BBY. Jinn's dying words acknowledged Skywalker as the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force. His apprentice, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, pledged to train Skywalker. The High Council conferred the rank of Jedi Knight on Kenobi, who defeated the Sith Lord responsible for his master's death, and permitted him to train Skywalker as his Padawan. Yoda was the sole dissenter in the High Council's decision to admit Skywalker into the Jedi Order, certain of the danger Skywalker's training would bring, regardless of his status as the Chosen One. During the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn, Skywalker learned of the High Council's decision to allow Kenobi to train him. Kenobi assured Skywalker that he would become a Jedi.

During his apprenticeship with Kenobi, Skywalker struggled to meet the expectations associated with being both a Jedi and the Chosen One. His status as the focal point of an ancient Jedi prophecy made it challenging for him to convince his peers that he was no different, leading to feelings of isolation. Additionally, he idealized Jinn, hoping to vindicate his faith by proving himself as the Chosen One. While he viewed Kenobi as a father figure, Skywalker believed his mentor failed to recognize his true Force strength. Eventually, Skywalker became convinced that his power would rival that of the strongest Jedi Masters, including Yoda and Mace Windu, as foretold in the prophecy.

As Skywalker advanced through the Jedi ranks, the High Council observed his progress with concern. Windu noted Skywalker's exceptional skills for his age, while Kenobi felt his pupil lacked experience and humility. He worried that Skywalker's advanced abilities had fostered hubris, a trait Yoda also observed in other members of Skywalker's generation and more experienced members of the Order. While Windu remained skeptical of Skywalker's status as the Chosen One, he acknowledged the prophecy and believed only Kenobi's Padawan could restore balance to the Force.

Another influential figure in Skywalker's life was Sheev Palpatine, a politician from Naboo. Palpatine's public persona concealed his true identity as Darth Sidious, who orchestrated the Trade Federation's invasion of his homeworld to secure his election as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Sidious believed the Force had bestowed upon the Chosen One power unmatched by all except the Dark Lord of the Sith. Aware of the Jedi's belief in the Chosen One's destiny, Sidious dismissed the prophecy as a misinterpretation of balance in the Force. Skywalker's potential power, coupled with his volatile temperament and traits conflicting with the Jedi Code, made him the ideal Sith apprentice for Sidious.

The Sith Lord used his public role as Chancellor Palpatine to access Skywalker, cultivating a friendship he exploited to undermine the Padawan's commitment to the Jedi Order. Consequently, Skywalker developed doubts about Jedi doctrine, becoming more ambitious and arrogant under Sidious's influence. Sidious assured the young Jedi that he was destined for greatness exceeding all Jedi, including Yoda.

The Clone Wars commenced with the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY. Elevated to Jedi Knight status, Skywalker and his fellow Jedi became leaders in the newly formed Grand Army of the Republic, adopting the military rank of Jedi General. Unlike his peers, Skywalker quickly adapted to his new role as a general in the Republic Military. He had struggled to adhere to the Jedi Code, striving to overcome emotions deemed unsuitable for a Jedi. However, as a soldier on the battlefield, he discovered that his power increased with his anger. Despite knowingly violating the Jedi Code on multiple occasions during the war, he justified his actions by believing he served the greater good of the Republic. Consequently, due to the war and Chancellor Palpatine's influence, Skywalker began to truly believe he was the Chosen One, viewing himself as the galaxy's savior. This self-perception helped justify his actions that deviated from the Jedi path.

Though a recently promoted Jedi Knight, Skywalker was initially reluctant to train an apprentice, despite it being a revered Order tradition. Nevertheless, following the Battle of Christophsis, Yoda assigned Ahsoka Tano as Skywalker's Padawan, believing he was prepared to become a teacher. By instructing his own student in the Jedi arts, Yoda hoped Skywalker would overcome his inability to sever emotional attachments. He also hoped that the maturity gained from mentoring a young apprentice would transform Skywalker into the powerful Jedi foretold in the prophecy.

During the war, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Tano were lured to Mortis by the Ones. The Father sought to assess Skywalker's Force strength to determine if he was truly the Chosen One, while the Son was equally invested in discovering the Jedi Knight's true potential. Skywalker dismissed the Chosen One as a myth; however, his ability to force the Father's children into submission convinced the patriarch that Skywalker was indeed destined to bring balance to the Force, as only the Chosen One could tame the Son and the Daughter.

With his stewardship nearing its end, the Father entreated Skywalker to succeed him in maintaining balance on Mortis. Skywalker declined, and the Father warned that his selfishness would have galaxy-wide repercussions. The Son initiated his plan by abducting Tano, forcing Skywalker to delay his departure to rescue his apprentice. Like the Father, the Son was certain that Skywalker was the Chosen One. Trapped in Mortis by his Father, the Son sought to turn the Chosen One to the dark side, allowing him to escape into the galaxy. Skywalker refused, falsely believing the Son wanted him to become a Sith. The Son proclaimed that they would destroy both the Sith and the Jedi.

The Son succeeded in turning Skywalker by revealing his fate as a Dark Lord of the Sith through Force visions, compelling Skywalker to join the Son in hopes of altering the future. However, their plan was undone when the Father erased Skywalker's knowledge of the future. Following the destruction of the Ones, Skywalker returned to the galaxy with Kenobi and Tano, discovering that no time had passed in their absence.

During the final days of the Clone Wars, Skywalker found himself caught between the increasingly strained relationship between the Jedi High Council and the Galactic Senate's leader, Chancellor Palpatine. His friendship with the chancellor and his appointment to the High Council at Palpatine's request made the Jedi elders wary of Skywalker. Kenobi remained steadfast in his belief that Skywalker was the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. However, neither Windu nor Yoda shared his conviction, and the Grand Master began to doubt the Jedi's interpretation of the prophecy.

Through Sidious's manipulations, who revealed his secret identity to the Jedi, Skywalker turned against the Jedi Order and embraced the dark side of the Force as the Sith Lord Darth Vader. His first act as a Sith apprentice was to attack the Jedi Temple with the 501st Legion. The Jedi within the Temple were massacred by their former colleague and his legion of clone troopers. With the exception of a few survivors, the Great Jedi Purge successfully destroyed most of the Jedi Order through Order 66. As a result, Sidious believed the Chosen One had indeed restored balance to the Force by unleashing its dark side through the suppression of the light.

Though grief-stricken by the fall of his former apprentice, Kenobi confronted Vader on Mustafar and emerged victorious in their lightsaber duel. Kenobi declared that Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One, but instead of bringing balance as foretold, he condemned the Force to darkness by joining the Sith. After expressing his sentiments, which Vader met with utter hatred for his former master, Kenobi left his fallen apprentice to burn on the edge of a lava bend. Vader survived his grievous injuries and was retrieved by Sidious.

Vader's condition necessitated extensive cybernetic reconstruction, rendering him more machine than man. His damaged body was encased in a life-sustaining suit of armor. Sidious knew Vader would be weaker as a result of his injuries. Therefore, he tested his apprentice's connection to the dark side by informing Vader that he had caused the death of his wife, Senator Padmé Amidala. The intensity of Vader's anguish and self-hatred revealed his continued possession of great power. Vader would henceforth serve as his master's right hand, enforcing the Emperor's reign across the Galactic Empire.

With the Emperor's blessing, Darth Vader claimed Mustafar as his own and oversaw the construction of his personal residence, Fortress Vader, with the help of Darth Momin. Though Momin had long been dead by the Imperial Era, the ancient Sith communicated with his modern counterpart through a mask imbued with his dark essence. Having manipulated Vader into constructing the fortress as a conduit for the dark side's power, Momin opened a portal in the Force, facilitating his rebirth. The two Sith Lords battled each other in a cave beneath the fortress, and Momin revealed his knowledge of Vader's former persona, Anakin Skywalker.

The reborn Sith Lord was aware that the Jedi believed Skywalker to be their prophesied Chosen One and that Vader still considered himself as such despite his fall to the dark side. Scoffing at how Vader could have been gifted with the greatest power in the galaxy, Momin derided his opponent as a broken shadow of his former self. Furthermore, Momin taunted Vader by reminding him of his late wife and how he failed to save her despite his potential as the Chosen One. Vader ultimately defeated Momin, resulting in the ancient Sith Lord's second death.

Anakin Skywalker's descent into darkness dramatically shifted his former master's interpretation of the prophecy. Obi-Wan, who had previously considered his apprentice to be the Chosen One, ultimately believed that Darth Vader was permanently lost to the dark side. Consequently, he transferred his hopes to Vader's offspring, Luke Skywalker, whom he secretly protected during his years of exile and isolation on Tatooine. As time passed, Kenobi began to question whether the prophecy had been misinterpreted, wondering if Luke was the true Chosen One, while acknowledging Luke's capacity to forge his own path. In a confrontation with a long-standing adversary, the former Sith Lord Maul, Kenobi ended decades of animosity by defeating the Dathomirian. With his dying words, Maul inquired whether Kenobi was safeguarding the Chosen One, to which the Jedi Master affirmed, now convinced that Luke, not Anakin, would fulfill the prophecy. Maul then passed away, assured that the victims of the Sith would find retribution.

The training of Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi commenced during the Galactic Civil War. By this point, the Jedi Order was nearly eradicated due to the Great Jedi Purge initiated by Order 66. Kenobi initially served as Luke's mentor, but was killed by Vader shortly thereafter, prematurely ending Skywalker's apprenticeship. However, by mastering the secret of immortality, Kenobi managed to maintain his consciousness within the Force after his physical death. During the Battle of Yavin, he communicated with Luke, urging him to trust in the Force. Guided by Kenobi's spectral presence, Luke secured the survival of the Alliance to Restore the Republic by obliterating the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station.

Yoda, the Grand Master, became Luke's subsequent instructor. Despite initially perceiving the young Skywalker as impetuous and prone to anger, much like his father, Yoda consented to complete the Jedi hopeful's education in the Force. Despite Luke's progress, he chose to depart from Dagobah prematurely. Through the Force, Luke experienced visions of the future, revealing that his comrades were in peril. Resolved to aid them, he disregarded Yoda's warning that only a fully trained Jedi could triumph over the Sith. Luke's choice resulted in his showdown with Vader at Cloud City, where he ultimately discovered the truth about his lineage in 3 ABY.

Sidious ridiculed Vader's status as the Chosen One following the failure to protect the Death Star. The Emperor rebuked his apprentice for being the sole survivor of the battle station's destruction. Sidious belittled Vader's past as the Jedi Order's prophesied Chosen One, labeling him "the one chosen to be held accountable" for the Empire's catastrophic defeat in the Yavin system. In response, Vader pledged to rectify his errors, disregarding his master's taunts. However, Vader faced punishment for his actions following the Battle of Hoth, as he failed to prevent his son's escape on Bespin. Furthermore, he neglected to eliminate Sabé, who bore a striking resemblance to the deceased Amidala, and disobeyed his master's command to report to him on Coruscant. Sidious overwhelmed Vader with the Force, employing his apprentice's own punishment technique to torture him. As Vader struggled in vain, Sidious questioned how the Chosen One could be so weak, helpless, and consumed by fear when he was destined to bring balance to the Force. The Emperor pondered who selected the Chosen One and whether they could choose another. Sidious likened Vader to a tool that he would discard once it was no longer useful.

After narrowly escaping his father, Luke eventually returned to Dagobah, where a dying Yoda revealed that Vader was indeed Luke's father. The revelation that Vader and Anakin were the same person created internal conflict within Luke, as he was unwilling to kill his own father. Based on this knowledge, he believed that a vestige of his father's former self still existed within the persona of Vader. However, neither Kenobi nor Yoda shared Luke's perspective. According to Kenobi, Vader was more machine than man, viewing his former student as a being who was "twisted and evil." Similarly, Yoda cautioned Luke that those who embarked on the path of the dark side would always be dominated by its power. Despite his masters' warnings, Luke ultimately confronted Vader once more, remaining steadfast in his belief that Vader could be redeemed. As the deceased Jedi Masters had foreseen, the Emperor exploited Luke's emotions to his advantage, luring Luke to the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, where he sought to convert the young Jedi to the dark side during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

Luke's power amplified with his hatred, and through his rage, he defeated his father in a lightsaber duel. Sidious betrayed Vader and attempted to replace him with Luke as his new apprentice. However, Luke restrained himself at the last moment and, having defeated Vader and resisted the allure of the dark side, claimed the title of Jedi Knight. His actions baffled the Emperor, who attacked Luke with a barrage of Force lightning. Unable to defend himself, Luke pleaded with his father for assistance while the Emperor slowly tortured him to death. Unwilling to witness his son's demise, Vader sacrificed his life to save Luke, thereby dying as Anakin Skywalker. Ultimately, Anakin fulfilled his role as the Chosen One and brought balance to the Force, validating Qui-Gon Jinn's faith in the prophecy that foretold Anakin's destiny.

Accepting his fate, Anakin joined his Jedi mentors in death by becoming one with the Force. Shortly after his funeral, the Chosen One appeared before his son, standing alongside the spirits of Kenobi and Yoda as the Rebels celebrated their victory on Endor.

The Jedi prophecy predicted the destruction of the Sith, but it did not foresee the end of darkness. Although Anakin Skywalker restored balance to the Force, his actions as Darth Vader decimated the Jedi Order, leaving Luke Skywalker as the last Jedi. Despite the fall of the Sith and the restoration of balance in the Force, the dark side persisted as remnants of the former Galactic Empire reorganized into the First Order under Supreme Leader Snoke, a Force-sensitive being who possessed a strong connection to the dark side.

Luke trained a new generation of Jedi, but his efforts were destroyed by his nephew Ben Solo's fall to the dark side of the Force. Throughout his youth, Solo struggled with the expectations of being Luke's nephew and the grandson of a prophesied Chosen One. As Luke sensed, the Force was in balance for many years until he saw his nephew. Under Snoke's influence, Solo abandoned his future as a Jedi and assumed the identity of Kylo Ren, becoming the Supreme Leader's apprentice and a warlord of the First Order. He also became the master of the Knights of Ren, an elite group of Force warriors who followed Snoke and embraced the ways of the dark side. Ren considered himself the rightful heir to the tradition embodied by his fallen grandfather; as such, he strived to emulate Vader's strength.

Soon after his nephew's fall to the dark side, Luke vanished, leaving behind only fragments of a map that revealed the location of his self-imposed exile. During the Cold War, Ren's mother, Princess Leia Organa, sought to locate her brother and enlist him in the fight against the First Order. Lor San Tekka, a member of the Church of the Force, provided Organa's movement, the Resistance, with the final piece of the map to Skywalker. Despite lacking Force-sensitivity, San Tekka was a follower of the Jedi religion and believed that the Jedi were essential for maintaining balance in the Force.

Long after his death, Darth Sidious was revealed to have been resurrected and announced his return to a galaxy embroiled in another galactic war, this time between the First Order and the Resistance. Ren, having seized the position of Supreme Leader by assassinating Snoke, tracked the spectral Sith Lord to the remote world of Exegol. Although he was determined to eliminate Sidious as a threat to his reign, the former Emperor unveiled a powerful military that would enable the Sith to be reborn and Ren to project First Order power across the galaxy, ruling all of it as Sidious' successor. In exchange, he urged Ren to kill Rey, a Jedi apprentice who was sired from Sidious' own bloodline.

However, Ren had developed a close bond with Rey through their unique Force-bond. Having discovered that they were each one half of a prophesied Force dyad, Ren implored the former scavenger to take her place by his side, believing that together they could kill Rey's grandfather and claim the Throne of the Sith. But after Ren renounced the dark side, reverting to his identity as Ben Solo, Sidious pressed forward by attempting to seduce Rey to the dark side. Using his new fleet to threaten Rey's friends, Sidious nearly coerced Rey into striking him down, which would allow him to possess her body, but for the intervention of Solo, who returned to Exegol to fight alongside Rey.

However, Rey and Solo's union revealed their nature as a dyad to Sidious, who drained their combined life force to revitalize his weakened body, restoring the Emperor to his full power. Remembering his own death at the hands of Solo's grandfather, Sidious seized his former apprentice's descendant through the Force before casting the last Skywalker into a dark abyss. Although Rey was weakened by the energy drain, the voices of Jedi from generations past spoke to her, urging the last Jedi to rise up against the Sith Emperor. Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One who brought balance to the Force, also spoke to Rey, encouraging her to follow in his footsteps by restoring the balance.

Empowered by the spirits of all the Jedi, Rey vanquished her dark ancestor, preventing the rebirth of the Sith to preserve Anakin's balance and sacrificing her life in the process. Climbing out of the abyss, Solo discovered Rey's lifeless body and revived her with his own Force energy. The two embraced and shared a kiss before Solo died peacefully in Rey's arms, joining his family in death as the last of the Skywalkers. Although a Palpatine by blood, Rey adopted the Skywalker name to honor her mentors, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

The prophecy of the Chosen One, who would bring balance to the Force, was introduced in the 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the inaugural installment of the prequel trilogy. The Chosen One was identified as Anakin Skywalker, who was conceived by the Force itself through the mystical one-celled organisms known as midi-chlorians completely without outside influence.

Despite some fan debate regarding whether Anakin Skywalker's son, Luke Skywalker, was the true Chosen One due to his role in causing his father to destroy Darth Sidious, George Lucas himself clarified in an interview that Anakin, even after becoming Darth Vader, remained the official Chosen One, who brings balance by ending the Sith's dominion over the galaxy. Darth Vader: Sith Lord, a canon reference title, also explicitly states that "Anakin had fulfilled the destiny of the Chosen One."

Nevertheless, based on material Lucas was involved in, the prophecy of the Chosen One was not necessarily limited to a single person. In the episode of the Clone Wars TV show titled "Destiny," Yoda was told that he will train "who will save the galaxy from a great imbalance", referring to Luke Skywalker. Furthermore, when he discussed his original plans for the sequel trilogy, Lucas stated that Princess Leia would became the Chancellor of the restored Republic, elaborating that she "ended up being the Chosen One".

A popular fan theory also proposed that Anakin Skywalker may have been the result of Darth Plagueis' experiments, an ancient Sith who purportedly possessed the ability to create life and conquer death by manipulating midi-chlorians, and whose story was introduced in the 2005 film, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. This theory heavily relied on a discarded scene from an early draft of the Episode III script, which revealed Darth Sidious as Anakin's creator. The 2012 Star Wars Legends novel Darth Plagueis combined both interpretations of Skywalker's birth stating that Plagueis was indirectly responsible for Anakin's creation yet the Force conceived Anakin as a way to stop the Sith.

George Lucas himself initially stated that the mystery of the Chosen One's birth was open to audience interpretation, as it had no bearing on the outcome of events. However, in an interview with Paul Duncan, author of the book Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III, 1999-2005, he explicitly stated that Anakin was created by the Will of the Force through midi-chlorians, confirming the circumstances of Anakin's birth as presented in Episode I.

Following the release of the 2019 film, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, and the revelation that Darth Sidious had returned from the dead, some fans questioned whether Anakin Skywalker had indeed fulfilled the Chosen One prophecy and brought balance to the Force, or whether the prophecy referred to Rey. While the prophecy foretold the end of the Sith but not the dark side of the Force, Sidious' return suggested that the Sith Order was not technically destroyed until Rey killed Sidious with the aid of past Jedi, finally resolving the ancient conflict between the Jedi and the Sith. However, Sidious did confirm his death and the Sith's destruction at Anakin's hands as he wanted the Sith to be reborn. Later, Anakin's spirit himself told Rey that he had already brought balance to the Force before and ultimately, Rey prevented the Sith's rebirth to keep the Force balanced. In The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, art director Rick Carter expressed his opinion that Rey was the one who fulfilled the prophecy rather than Anakin, stating that while that one would be a Skywalker, it didn't necessarily need to be one by blood.

In the 2017 film, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker notes that there was a balance in the Force for many years until Ben Solo fell to the dark side. It's indeed stated in The Rise of Skywalker that Anakin brought balance to the Force at least for a time, as he asks Rey to bring back the balance like he once did. The reference book Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary furthermore clarifies that the Chosen One prophecy just foretold the destruction of the Sith, but not of the dark side of the Force itself, explaining the continued existence of dark side users such as Kylo Ren and Snoke.

According to Chris Terrio, in George Lucas' words, the balance of the Force means that the dark and the light sides of the Force exist together, Lucas himself said to writers of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series that to go to the dark side, an inherent element of individuals that must be overcome through discipline, was to imbalance the Force and referred to Balance as the light keeping the darkness in check, so one won't go to the dark side. Terrio stated that Rey has achieved a balance for the current moment, and J.J. Abrams affirmed this to be the case in the feature-length documentary The Rise of Skywalker home video release — Featurette: "The Skywalker Legacy", clarifying that the balance in the Force is never permanent and has to be restored from time to time.