Star Wars: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Qui-Gon Jinn

The Star Wars prequel trilogy may have created a lot of controversy and division due to its quality, especially the first two  films of the three, but one thing it did brilliantly was introduced new fantastic characters into the Galaxy. One such character who never made it past the first movie was Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson.

Through his role in The Phantom Menace, The Clone Wars, comics, and books, he has become an incredibly fascinating and beloved character, and one of the most unique Jedi out there. With most of his appearances coming outside the movie, there is so much that fans may not know about the Jedi Master.

10 His Birthplace

A lot of characters tend to be born on planets that do not get center stage in the movies, like Obi-Wan being born on Stewjon, Count Dooku’s on Serenno, Grievous on Kalee, Mace Windu on Haruun Kal, and Yoda from wherever his species originates.

Qui-Gon, like Padmé (Naboo,) Palpatine (Naboo,) Luke Skywalker (born on Polis Masa and raised on Tatooine,) and Chewbacca (Kashyyyk,) was born on a well-known planet: Coruscant on 80BBY.

9 He Lived In The Moment

More of a personality trait than anything else, Qui-Gon’s lifestyle of living in the moment is a huge part of him, and something that makes him pretty unique compared to other Jedi.

Audiences constantly see Yoda and other Jedi in meditation, trying to find answers and secrets about the future. Qui-Gon believed in trusting instincts, and not focusing on the future when the present is right here and now. Even in death, he acted as a guide for Yoda, not revealing secrets of the future, which he may well know, setting Yoda on the path towards knowledge instead.

8 His Mysterious Journey

Similar to what we see Master Yoda go through in season six of The Clone Wars when he sets out to understand more of the Force with the help of Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon went on his own unique journey.

After rescuing the Priestess of the Wood, Th’er, Qui-Gon was drawn to an unknown planet by the Force. There, he faced the Dark Side of the Force in a monument, inciting a Force vision of which he broke free when the Light Side entered. When he left, Qui-Gon believed violence could lead the Jedi to betray who they are and become what they fight against.

7 Heliost Clan

When Younglings arrive at the Jedi Temple, they get split into Jedi Initiate Clans in which kinships get formed, and training ensues.

There are a few of these clans known in the canon, such as the Bear Clan, the Hawkbat Clan, the Thranta Clan, unidentified clans, and the Heliost Clan, of which Qui-Gon was a member of alongside initiates such as Gretz Doom, Ky Narec, Ima-Gun Di, and Yeeda.

6 Trained In Lightsaber Combat By Tera Sinube

These Jedi Initiate Clans are led by one of two Jedi, one of those unsurprisingly being Grandmaster Yoda, who we see training the Bear Clan in Attack Of The Clones, and the other being the elderly Jedi Master Tera Sinube, who appears in The Clone Wars.

Qui-Gon and the Heliost Clan were taught by Tera Sinube, who taught the Initiates their lightsaber combat, honing their skills before they go on to be Padawans, which Qui-Gon did at the age of twelve with Count Dooku as his Master.

5 His Lightsaber Form

Lightsaber forms are a fascinating part of the Star Wars franchise, differentiating the individual Sith, Jedi, and those in-between from each other in how they battle.

Qui-Gon is a practitioner of Ataru, the same form as Master Yoda, the movements needed to use the form were a factor in why Maul was able to defeat Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan lured Maul into a false sense of confidence in Rebels when they battled as he utilized Jinn’s Ataru stance, which Maul recognizes as the one used by Kenobi’s Master he defeated years prior.

4 The Ideologies Of The Living & Cosmic Force

It is well known that Qui-Gon was the first Jedi to achieve some matter of consciousness after death, never fully completing his training, this training he embarked on led him to unique ideologies.

The idea of the Living Force and Cosmic Force were unknown to the Jedi Order when Qui-Gon discovered them in his training. Jinn learned of these two sides of the Force, with a Living Force channeled through all the Galaxy’s living beings, and the Cosmic Force into which the Living Force fed, when a living being dies, it passes through the Living Force into the Cosmic Force. The harmony of these two sides allowed for the Force to bind the Galaxy and communicate with living things through midi-chlorians.

3 Priestesses & Shaman Of The Whills

Like Yoda, Qui-Gon traveled to the Wellspring of Life, where, from the five Force Priestesses, he learned these secrets of the Living Force and Cosmic Force.

Qui-Gon was also taught in abundance by a currently mysterious figure known as the Shaman of the Whills, who taught him the path of which to follow in order to retain one’s consciousness after death and to manifest oneself physically – aka a Force Spirit.

2 His Philosophy

Through all of his learning and the path, Qui-Gon followed, as well as his outlook on life in terms of living in the moment, Qui-Gon had a unique philosophy that differentiated him from the rest of the Jedi Council of which he rejected a seat.

Qui-Gon was viewed as a maverick Jedi and would disobey and veer away from the ancient Jedi Code as he saw fit, as he saw the Living Force as the true authority. If the will of the Force sent him on a path that did not fall in line with the teachings of the Jedi Order, Qui-Gon had no issue following that path.

1 Communications With Obi-Wan Kenobi

Long after his death, and after the fall of the Jedi Order at the hands of Emperor Palpatine, when Obi-Wan Kenobi was in exile on Tatooine, Qui-Gon kept up communications with Obi-Wan.

In something that is hopefully explored in the Obi-Wan Disney+ series, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had conversations about Skywalker and the prophecy of the Chosen One, as well as Obi-Wan’s hardships on Tatooine. Also, when battling famed bounty hunter Black Krrsantan, Obi-Wan looked to his Master for strength. Finally, in other, far more important occurrences, Jinn came to Obi-Wan to reassure he did the right thing when Obi-Wan chose not to tell Luke about his father, and later, Jinn directed Obi-Wan to sacrifice himself so Luke and the company could escape the Death Star.