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- "The Force is with me,
And I am one with the Force;
And I fear nothing,
Because all is as the Force wills it." - ―The Guardian's Mantra
The Guardians of the Whills were a religious order that existed at least a few years before the Invasion of Naboo. The Guardians later acted as a resistance group[1] of monks active in the Jedha City on Jedha during the Imperial Era. They traditionally handcrafted the lightbow, a complicated form of bowcaster native to Jedha, such as the one used by Chirrut Îmwe during the Battle of Scarif.[3] The Guardians protected both the Temple of the Kyber and pilgrims who visited it.
History
- "Who are they?"
"The Guardians of the Whills. Protectors of the Temple of the Kyber. But there's nothing left to protect, so now they're just causing trouble for everybody." - ―Jyn Erso and Cassian Jeron Andor
A religious order[4] separate from though known to the Jedi Order by at least a few years before the Invasion of Naboo[5] in 32 BBY,[6] the Guardians of the Whills' mantra preached about being one with the Force. As with many other Force-based organizations, the Guardians had a presence in Jedha City,[2] where they handcrafted the native lightbow per tradition.[2] Into the Imperial Era, the Guardians continued to defend visiting pilgrims to the sacred Temple of the Kyber in Jedha City.[7] Although they protected the Temple, when the Galactic Empire pillaged it for precious kyber crystals that would be used for their new Death Star superweapon,[2] the Guardians of the Whills remained around the fallen site.[3]
In 0 BBY,[6] rebels Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor visited Jedha in hopes of finding an Imperial defector who held vital information for the Empire's new weapon. As they weaved through Jedha City, the pair walked into a Partisan raid on Imperial tanks. As Imperial stormtroopers surrounded the rebels, however, the human Guardian, Chirrut Îmwe, entered the scene and distracted the troopers. With the assistance of his friend, Baze Malbus,[3] a resigned Guardian of the Whills,[2] Îmwe downed all of the stormtroopers, thereby saving the rebels. As the rebels went on their mission, Îmwe and Malbus followed until their sacrifice at the Battle of Scarif, making use of the Guardians of the Whills' teachings throughout.[3]
Practises
Their beliefs included a preaching praxis, regarding the force.
They preferred to sense the force and its presence, while the Disicples of the Whills preferred to listen and try to understand the will of the force.
They believed that both the light and dark side of the force were valuable. For the light to exist there must be dark. For the force there must be balance.
"In darkness, cold. In light, cold. The old sun brings no heat. But there is heat in breath and life. In life, there is the Force. In the Force, there is life. And the Force is eternal."
―Sunset Prayer of the Guardians of the Whills.
Behind the scenes
- "Originally, I was trying to have the story be told by somebody else (an immortal being known as a Whill); there was somebody watching this whole story and recording it, somebody probably wiser than the mortal players in the actual events. I eventually dropped this idea, and the concepts behind the Whills turned into the Force. But the Whills became part of this massive amount of notes, quotes, background information that I used for the scripts; the stories were actually taken from the Journal of the Whills."
- ―George Lucas
In early drafts of A New Hope, the name "Whills" referred to an early version of what became the Force.[8][9]
In the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, an unfilmed scene featured the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn telling Yoda that he learned the secret to becoming a Force spirit after death from a Shaman of the Whills. In another cut line, Yoda claimed the secret to immortality was held by the "Ancient Order of the Whills."[10] Jinn's claim was repeated by the then-canon Databank and the Encyclopedia on StarWars.com.[11][12]
A later, canon interpretation of this scene was featured in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but had Qui-Gon point Yoda to the Wellspring of Life as the source of immortality instead.[13]
Appearances
Sources
- Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- Star Wars: Rogue One: Rebel Dossier
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Knights of Fate
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills
Baze Malbus' MWC-35C Repeating Cannon in the Databank (backup link)- The Force in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- ↑ NEW Star Wars Launch Bay Rogue One Additions & Changes Update
- ↑ Master & Apprentice
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
- ↑ "The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith screenplay
- ↑
Qui-Gon Jinn in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑
Qui-Gon Jinn Biography Gallery in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Destiny"
