SW Has Revealed Palpatine Needed The Jedi Younglings, Why Did He Have Them K*lled?

In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, we see Anakin, under Palpatine’s command, massacre the Jedi Younglings in the Jedi Temple. However, as we explore more of the Star Wars universe, we come across a seemingly contradictory side of Palpatine—he actually intended to capture Younglings alive.

So how do we make sense of this?

Project Necromancer

Project Necromancer serves as a contingency plan for Palpatine, providing a means of resurrection should he meet his end. In simpler terms, it’s as if Palpatine has discovered a path to immortality.

In Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, we witness Darth Vader’s redemption as he reverts to his former self, Anakin Skywalker, and seemingly ends Palpatine’s reign to save his son, Luke Skywalker.

However, Project Necromancer was specifically designed to counter such events, ensuring Palpatine’s survival beyond his physical demise.

What Exactly Is Project Necromancer?

Project Necromancer is a secret initiative aimed at prolonging Emperor Palpatine’s life. It combines the dark side of the Force and advanced technology to create a clone host body. This body is prepared to accommodate Palpatine’s spirit, should he meet his demise.

However, merely transferring his spirit isn’t enough to ensure Palpatine’s survival. The clone host also needs a high M-count (Midi-chlorian count) from Palpatine to be viable. This is where the Jedi Younglings become valuable to Palpatine.

The concentration of midi-chlorians, or the M-count, signifies an individual’s connection to the Force. The higher the M-count, the stronger the connection. However, as revealed in the Bad Batch series, midi-chlorians cannot be cloned. They must be extracted from another living being and implanted within a clone, thereby increasing the clone body’s M-count.

This clarifies why Palpatine, during his reign as Emperor, sought Force-sensitive individuals. Palpatine’s goal was to clone Force-sensitive individuals, as they could serve as ideal vessels for him. Provided that the clone body can accommodate Palpatine’s M-count, he could then transfer his essence into the host body.

But here’s the puzzle – why do cloned bodies have such low midi-chlorian counts? It probably has to do with cloning being an artificial process that goes against how the Force naturally works.

Palpatine’s big dream is to solve this problem. He wants to figure out how to put midi-chlorians into a clone body – maybe even more than the original person had. If he could pull that off, he’d be even more powerful when he takes over the clone.

We see hints of this plan in The Mandalorian, where Imperial remnants are trying to capture Grogu for experiments. Since Grogu is incredibly Force-sensitive, a successful clone of him could be the perfect new body for Palpatine.

But wait – if Palpatine needed Force-sensitive kids so badly, why did he have Vader kill all the younglings at the Jedi Temple? The answer is timing. Back then, Palpatine hadn’t figured out the whole immortality thing yet. During the Republic’s fall, he was focused on one goal: wiping out anyone who could threaten his power. The youngling massacre was about securing his Empire, not about his cloning experiments.

It wasn’t until after he became Emperor that Palpatine started seriously working on living forever. By then, of course, most of the Force-sensitive children were already gone.

The Reason Why Jedi Younglings Were Targeted in the Great Jedi Purge

Palpatine’s strategy was heavily reliant on his ability to remain hidden from the Jedi. From the Star Wars prequel, we learn that before the rise of the Empire, Palpatine used the dark side of the Force to conceal his true power. His plan was executed so flawlessly that none of the Jedi Masters could detect the evil within him.

However, a pivotal moment in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith sheds light on why Palpatine wanted to eliminate the Younglings. These Younglings, or younger Force-sensitives, had the unique ability to sense Palpatine’s concealed power.

Younger Force-Sensitives Seem To Have Been Able To See Through Palpatine’s Force Powers

It appears that younger Force-sensitives were uniquely capable of sensing disturbances in the Force that older, more experienced Jedi often overlooked. This idea is supported by moments in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In the film, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are dispatched by the Supreme Chancellor to board the Trade Federation flagship. Their mission was a response to the Federation’s blockade of Naboo, triggered by a dispute over the taxation of trade routes to distant star systems. As guardians of peace and justice, the Jedi were tasked with negotiating the Federation’s withdrawal from the system.

When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan first arrived on the flagship, Obi-Wan sensed something unusual, saying, “I have a bad feeling about this.” Qui-Gon, however, dismissed his concern, replying, “I don’t sense anything.” Obi-Wan explained further, “It’s not about the mission, Master. It’s something… elsewhere, elusive.” This exchange proves to us how Obi-Wan, being younger and perhaps more attuned to subtle shifts in the Force, could sense a disturbance that Qui-Gon, despite his experience, did not.

This concept is reinforced later in the film when Qui-Gon informs the Jedi Council that he encountered a Sith Lord. None of the Jedi Masters, including Yoda, initially believed him. Yoda even remarked, “Ah, hard to see, the dark side is.” This skepticism from the Council underscores how the dark side’s ability to conceal itself eluded even the most experienced Jedi.

Why the Younglings Can Sense Palpatine Through the Force

To substantiate this point, I refer to a book, “Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi,” penned by Marc Sumerak that chronicles the history of the Jedi Order, guided by the perspective of Luke Skywalker. 

Luke provides an enlightening explanation about the younglings. He reveals that young Force-sensitives do not align with the light or dark side until they mature. It is suggested that they are connected to the balance of the Force itself, which the ancient Jedi perceived as a distinct aspect of the Force.

From the book “Using the Force properly is all about finding balance. And some Force users, particularly Force-sensitives children known by the Jedi as younglings, are able to tap into its energy without an obvious alignment to either side. The Force simply flows through them in its purest form. Based on the constant struggles I’ve witnessed between the light and dark sides of the Force, perhaps their innate neutrality can teach us all a valuable lesson.”

This balanced nature might explain why the younglings were such a danger to Palpatine. Think about it – when the dark side clouds the light side (and the other way around), it creates confusion that Palpatine used to hide from adult Jedi. But younglings don’t get caught up in this back-and-forth struggle between light and dark. Their clean, unbiased connection to the Force might have let them see right through Palpatine’s tricks.

If we’re right about this, it makes perfect sense why wiping out the younglings was so important to Palpatine’s plan. These kids were probably the only ones who could have eventually figured out what he really was – and that made them his biggest threat.