Star Wars: 10 Most Ridiculous Stories From The Expanded Universe

9. The Jedi Order Isn’t As Selective As You Might Think

Palpatine Clones
Lucasfilm

To be a Jedi you have to be super zen and tap into the Force, an energy that binds all living things (I’m going to pretend that the whole midichlorian explanation never happened). The original trilogy led us to believe that there were literally five individuals left in the entire galaxy who could utilize the powers of the Force, making Jedi a pretty exclusive club.

In the Expanded Universe however, virtually everyone and anyone could be a Jedi. Case in point, Beldorion the Hutt, Jedi Knight. Despite the fact that virtually every single member of the Hutt species has a predilection towards crime, Beldorion was somehow chosen to train with the best of them. Eventually the morbidly obese space slug gained Jedi Knight status. It comes as no surprise that Beldorion was seduced by the dark side almost immediately, using his power to enslave an entire planet.

Beldorion lived as a tryrannical overlord for a while before he ran afoul of Leia sometime after Return of the Jedi. Having experience in dispatching hideously overweight snails, she was able to cut him in half with ease. When the Jedi Council is making membership decisions like this, its little wonder why the Jedi Order was exterminated so easily.

Contributor
Contributor

Ryan Lynch is a freelance journalist from the United States. He currently lives in Adelaide, Australia and writes for Adelaide-based music magazine Rip It Up. He wishes he could live like Hank Moody, but he watches too much TV and plays too many videogames to be that nonchalant.