I’ve always thought it was kind of weird. When Obi-Wan dies in A New Hope, he just disappears. Same with Yoda in Return of the Jedi. But when you watch Revenge of the Sith and see Order 66 go down, every Jedi that gets killed just drops dead. Bodies everywhere. So why didn’t they vanish like Obi-Wan and Yoda?
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It’s a Learned Skill, Not Something All Jedi Just Knew
The key person here is Qui-Gon Jinn. He was the first Jedi in a long time to figure out how to keep his identity after death. He didn’t finish the full training before dying, so that’s why we only hear his voice in The Clone Wars most of the time, not see his ghost until the Mortis Arc. But after death, he kept learning, and eventually passed that knowledge on to Yoda.
Yoda, in turn, teaches it to Obi-Wan. You actually see that start to happen at the end of Revenge of the Sith, when Yoda tells Obi-Wan that he has more training for him, and that Qui-Gon has learned how to come back from the netherworld of the Force.
The thing is, no one else knew how to do this. The Jedi who died during Order 66 were never taught. So when they were killed, they just died like anyone else. No vanishing, no glowing blue ghost afterward. Just a body.
They Didn’t Have Time to Accept Death
Another part of this is how you die. Obi-Wan and Yoda were both calm and ready when they passed. Obi-Wan chose to let go when he saw Luke watching. Yoda passed peacefully in bed after finishing everything he had to do. They had time to accept it.
Now think about how the others died in Order 66. They were ambushed by their own troops. It was violent, sudden, and confusing. They didn’t stand a chance, and definitely didn’t have time to prepare or center themselves in the Force. I mean, it’s hard to be one with the Force when you’re getting shot in the back by the clones you’ve been fighting beside for years.
So even if they could have learned how to do it, they weren’t in the right state of mind when it happened.
Anakin’s Case Is Just Different
Then there’s Anakin. He also disappears when he dies, which is strange because he definitely never learned the technique while he was alive. He spent years as Darth Vader, fully in the dark side, and that path doesn’t exactly come with lessons on post-death enlightenment.
But Anakin was special. He was literally the Chosen One, created by the Force (his father is literally the Force). Some believe he was just naturally able to return to it. Others say Obi-Wan helped him in those final moments – like gave him the knowledge as he was passing. That makes sense, especially if you believe Obi-Wan, Yoda, or even Qui-Gon was waiting for him on the other side.
He also died after turning back to the light and saving Luke. That redemption moment might’ve been enough to open the door.
The Knowledge Was Kept Secret
What makes it even more interesting is how small the group was that actually knew about all this. Qui-Gon never taught the Jedi Council. He passed it only to Yoda, who then passed it to Obi-Wan. Maybe later to Luke. It wasn’t shared openly.
Not only was it rare, but it also required a deep spiritual connection to the Living Force. Not every Jedi was focused on that. In the prequel era especially, the Jedi Order was caught up in politics and war. The ones who learned how to retain their identity had to go through trials, face their inner fears, and find peace.
Leia and Ben Also Became Force Ghosts – How?
I used to wonder how Leia and Ben Solo managed to become Force ghosts, especially Leia. She wasn’t even a Jedi, right? But after looking into it more, the answer actually fits in with everything above.
Leia did train as a Jedi. It wasn’t just hinted at – The Rise of Skywalker literally shows her training with Luke in a flashback. She even built her own lightsaber. She stopped her training because she had a vision that her path would eventually lead to Ben’s death, so she put it aside. But she still had the knowledge. That training, combined with her deep connection to the Force, was probably enough to let her preserve her identity after death. That’s why she disappears just like Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Luke.
Ben’s case is a little trickier. He was deep in the dark side for most of his life. But in the end, he turned back. He saved Rey, gave up his own life, and died as Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren. His body vanished too, which shows he became one with the Force. We don’t see him as a Force ghost on screen, but the way he fades out the same way Leia does suggests he reached that state.
Some people think Leia helped guide him there. Others say it was the fact that he was part of a Force dyad with Rey. Either way, the idea is that redemption, connection, and peace at the moment of death matter just as much as training. And Ben had all of that in the end.