Star Wars fans love to inspect their favorite movies. For Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, one probing question is the number of Jedi that Anakin Skywalker killed at the Jedi Temple. There are short, medium, and larger answers to this question.
The short answer is that Anakin killed at least 18 Jedis. This minimum count includes four Jedi Padawans, three Jedi Masters, and eleven younglings. The in-between answer includes a group of twenty younglings, putting the total at 27. The larger answer places the number of Jedi killed at 100 or more. Arriving at these figures requires some digging into the mysteries of Star Wars.
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Order 66 and the Attack on the Jedi
To arrive at these three estimates, we start with Order 66. This was a secret order issued by Chancellor Palpatine to execute all the Jedi. The order had been programmed into the clone army and transmitted during the Clone Wars.
Order 66 was the main part of the Sith’s plan to destroy the Jedi. Once issued, it resulted in clone troopers turning on the Jedi. Wookieepedia estimates that thousands of Jedi were wiped out following this order.
The order was also carried out while Anakin attacked the Jedi Temple.
About the Siege of the Jedi Temple
As Chancellor Palpatine’s apprentice, Anakin became the Sith Lord Darth Vader when Order 66 commenced. Darth Vader was ordered to attack the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant with the 501st Clone Battalion, or 501st Legion.
Meanwhile, Order 66 proceeded to kill almost all the Jedi. Perhaps fewer than one hundred survived, including such notables as Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
For thousands of years, the Jedi Temple was a training site and chamber for the Jedi Council. This Jedi High Council consisted of 12 members and was the main government of the Jedis. Yet, there were also three other councils.
The official Star Wars site states that following Order 66, all of the occupants were killed by Anakin, or Darth Vader, and the 501st Legion. So, we might conclude that the High Council and the other councils perished in the attack.
But, most of the Jedi were not at the Temple at the time of the attack. They were off fighting in the Clone Wars. Most died when clone troopers received Order 66 and fired on them.
How many Jedi were at the Jedi Temple?
If most of the Jedi were fighting, and dying, in the Clone Wars, then the number of Jedi present at the Temple would be much lower.
We know of four Jedi being there. Four of them were Jedi apprentices, or Padawans.
Zett Jukassa is one of the young Padawans, or Jedi apprentices, known to have been at the Temple. While trying to escape, Jukassa was killed by Clone Sergeant Fox.
Two other Padawa Jedis died at the hands of Anakin. Padawans Whie Malreaux and Bene are shown in a holographic image meeting their ends.
When Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda later arrive at the Temple, the movie also briefly shows five total Jedi dead in the main hallway. This shot includes four younglings–more on that below–and one Jedi, most likely a Padawan. So, the total of Jedi climbs to four, not counting the younglings.
Star Wars fans report that other Jedi died as well, but this is not definite. What is confirmed is that three more Jedi Masters perished at the Temple besides these Padawans.
How many Jedi Masters did Anakin Kill in the Jedi Temple?
Master Jurokk was the gatekeeper of the Temple. He was killed when Anakin commenced the attack. Jurokk actually went to greet Darth Vader and the clone troopers, thinking they were allies.
Master Cin Drallig was another of the Jedi Masters killed by Anakin at the Temple. Drallig was head of the temple guards and the main teacher of the younglings. The movie briefly shows Drallig fighting and dying to protect his students.
Master Shaak Ti was the third Jedi Master who was at the Temple. Shaak Ti was the only member of the Jedi Council left there at the time of Order 66. This Jedi Master’s death at the hands of Anakin was cut from the film, but confirmed in video games.
Anakin’s attack on the Jedi Younglings
It is certain that Anakin killed a group of Jedi younglings. The question is how many? When Anakin went looking for survivors, he found a group of younglings hiding in the Council chamber.
In the movie, seven younglings come out when Anakin enters. We do not witness, but can safely assume they perished after Anakin drew his lightsaber.
The movie also briefly shows four younglings who died in the hallway scene, along with one Jedi Padawan described above. Back to our count, that brings us to 11 younglings then.
Yet, we also know that younglings were divided into ten groups, or clans, each with about twenty, for training. And, we know by watching the movie that at least one clan was at the Jedi Temple. Anakin probably executed all twenty younglings then.
As with the Jedi Padawans and Jedi Masters, the number of younglings who perished could be higher still. If we think about more clans being there off the screen, that makes sense.
How many Jedi did Anakin kill in the Jedi Temple
In all, Darth Vader/Anakin killed at least 18 Jedi. In all likelihood, he probably killed 27.
Yet, including movie and off-movie clues also provides clues to push the total count above 100. Star Wars fans will continue to debate this question and other mysteries of the film series.