Destiny

Story

While marooned on the world of Tatooine, Padmé Amidala questions Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn regarding the wisdom of entrusting their future to Anakin Skywalker, a boy they barely knew. Watto negotiated terms with Qui-Gon during a wager on the Boonta Eve podrace, proposing that the liberation of either Anakin or his mother Shmi from servitude be left to chance, only for Qui-Gon to manipulate Watto's chance cube using the Force. When Senator Sheev Palpatine attempted to dissuade Queen Amidala from returning to Naboo, the Queen stated that her future was intertwined with that of her people. Queen Amidala persuaded Boss Rugor Nass to unite their societies in the fight against the Trade Federation, asserting that their future rested in his hands. Simultaneously, upon discovering Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon endeavored to convince the Jedi Council to train Anakin as a Jedi, but the Council deferred the decision on young Skywalker's future due to the Galactic Senate of the Republic holding a vote for a new Chancellor and Queen Amidala's ongoing confrontation on Naboo, which would expose the Queen's attacker, the Sith apprentice known as Darth Maul. Despite the Council's reservations and the concerns of his Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon remained convinced that Anakin's path was uncertain.

A decade later, while in hiding during the Jedi's investigation into the assassination attempts against her, Senator Padmé Amidala confided in Padawan Anakin Skywalker that she had dedicated a year to opposing the Senate's Military Creation Act and wished to be present when its fate was determined.

Toward the conclusion of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, during the battle of Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine advised Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker that they should abandon his master Obi-Wan Kenobi or they would never escape General Grievous's vessel, the Invisible Hand, to which Anakin responded that Obi-Wan's fate was intertwined with theirs. Subsequently, following the death of Grievous, Mace Windu led a group of Jedi to arrest Palpatine, who was revealed to be the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, with Windu declaring that the Senate would decide the Sith Lord's future. However, due to Anakin Skywalker's intervention, Palpatine unleashed Force lightning upon Windu, casting him through the window to his demise. While Anakin felt remorse for his actions, Palpatine asserted that Skywalker was fulfilling his destiny, and Sidious proclaimed the fallen Jedi as his new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.

Five years after the rise of the Galactic Empire, fate continued to play a role throughout the Great Jedi Purge, which saw the remaining Jedi Knights hunted down and eradicated by the Empire's Jedi hunters and Inquisitorius. Cal Kestis, a former Jedi Padawan in hiding, formed a friendship with a scrapper named Prauf, who was unaware of his friend's true identity but believed that Kestis deserved a better life than that of a scrapper. After escaping from the Inquisitors with new allies aboard the Stinger Mantis, Cal reflected on Prauf's advice to move forward with his life and discover his destiny before joining Cere Junda's mission to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Years later, after the death of Kanan Jarrus, his Padawan Ezra Bridger entered the mystical realm connecting all of time and space, known as the World Between Worlds, where he rescued Ahsoka Tano from a duel with Darth Vader in the past by pulling her into the realm. Bridger then became determined to alter the fate of his now-deceased master, Kanan Jarrus, only to be dissuaded after Tano explained that they would all be dead without Jarrus' selfless sacrifice.

Nineteen years after the conclusion of the Clone Wars and the establishment of the Empire, at a time when the Jedi were nearly extinct, Han Solo claimed to have traversed the galaxy without encountering anything that would lead him to believe in the Force as a mystical energy field governing his destiny, dismissing it as mere tricks and nonsense. During the rescue of Princess Leia Organa aboard the Death Star, Obi-Wan instructed Luke Skywalker to safeguard the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO and ensure their safe delivery to the Rebel Alliance, lest other star systems suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Obi-Wan added that Luke's destiny lay on a different path, assuring him that the Force would be with him, prior to his death in the Jedi Master's final duel with Darth Vader.

The Ezaraa species, who controlled the Dominion of the Ezaraa government on a mere two continents of their homeworld Ezaraa, harbored ambitions of overthrowing the Empire to replace it with the Dominion, ultimately viewing control over the entire universe as their inevitable future. To that end, several Ezaraa sought to acquire the Eternal Rur crystal from Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, who considered the Ezaraa foolish for attempting to expand across the stars when they currently governed so little.

While Luke underwent training with Yoda on Dagobah, the Jedi Master cautioned the young Jedi to be wary of the dark side of the Force, lest it dominate his destiny and consume him as it had Darth Vader. Although Luke attempted to depart Dagobah due to a vision of Han and Leia in danger, Yoda tried to persuade Luke to remain and complete his training, with the Force spirit of Obi-Wan stating that even Yoda could not foresee their future. During their duel on Cloud City, Vader asserted to Luke that his destiny lay with him, revealing that he was his father, and attempted to entice him to join him in ruling the galaxy together as father and son. Later, during the Millennium Falcon's escape, Vader contacted Luke, urging him to join him and declaring it to be his destiny.

Approximately one year later, Luke Skywalker returned to Dagobah, where Yoda confirmed the truth of Darth Vader's revelation about his parentage and cautioned the young Jedi not to underestimate the power of Emperor Palpatine, lest Luke suffer his father's fate. Shortly thereafter, Obi-Wan informed Luke that he could not evade his destiny to confront Darth Vader once more, stating that if he chose not to kill his father, the Emperor had already triumphed. While on the planet Endor and the second Death Star, Luke faced temptation from Vader and the Emperor to fulfill his destiny or face death. Despite defeating Vader in a duel, Luke declared to the Emperor that he would never succumb to the dark side and that he was a Jedi like his father.

During the First Order-Resistance War over 30 years later, after toying with the young Jedi Rey regarding her association with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and the Resistance, Supreme Leader Snoke commanded his apprentice Ben Solo, known as Kylo Ren, to fulfill his destiny by killing Rey as a means of completing his training. However, Ben assassinated Snoke and assumed the mantle of Supreme Leader of the First Order. Following the revelation that Rey was Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter, Luke's Force spirit informed Rey that confronting fear was the destiny of a Jedi, and that failure to confront Palpatine on Exegol would result in the demise of the Jedi and the loss of the war.

Production Notes

According to George Lucas, the concept of destiny is a key element in the Star Wars narrative.