Summary
- The Jedi have historically accepted older Force-users as apprentices, despite Yoda's claim that Anakin was too old to train.
- Many Force-users outside the Jedi Order have received training and guidance when they come into contact with the Jedi, regardless of their age.
- The Jedi Council's refusal to train Anakin, despite his power and potential, seems irresponsible and contributes to his fear of abandonment.
When Anakin Skywalker was brought to the Jedi Council in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Yoda and the rest of the Jedi Council rejected him on the grounds that he was simply too old to begin his Jedi training. Now, however, Star Wars seems to be backtracking on that rule, despite the fact that it directly impacted the training of the Jedi’s prospective Chosen One. Apparently, there have been many prior instances of older Jedi apprentices falling in among the younglings.
The Jedi Order had already fallen by the time of the original Star Wars trilogy, so The Phantom Menace was the first glimpse most people would have of the Jedi as a structured organization. Qui-Gon Jinn’s request to train Anakin and the subsequent denial of that request set the bar for the Jedi’s seemingly nonnegotiable age limit for Padawans. The High Republic Character Encyclopedia by Amy Richau and Megan Crouse, in comparison, recaps the era of the High Republic when the Jedi Knights were at their most active. The book reveals that despite what Yoda and the Council tell Qui-Gon, older Jedi apprentices were not uncommon.
