Star Wars Reveals Two Jedi Masters Secretly Survived Order 66

06/01/2023 02:32 pm EDT

Star Wars has revealed that two Jedi Masters we very much thought were dead actually survived Order 66 and have been hiding out in secret. The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and its Clone Wars spinoff introduced us to Jedi Council Member Shaak Ti and Jedi Master/General Aayla Secura, two of the most heroic warriors and/or leaders of the Jedi Order in its final days. By the time Order 66 was put into motion during Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, we saw both Shaak and Aayla die in the tragic Fall of the Jedi – or so we thought. 

Star Wars Reveals Shaak Ti & Aayla Secura Are Alive

In Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #32, the titular Doctor Aphra embarks on a new journey with an unwitting ally: Luke Skywalker, whom she has taken hostage for a mission. Aphra found an old holo message from Shaak to Aayla, calling her old friend to Sason Temple, for help guarding an ancient artifact, Kthoo's Bell, which could've given the Sith an unimaginable weapon against the universe. The temple can only be opened by a pure-hearted Jedi, which is why Aphra needs Skywalker in order to gain entry. 

Luke Skywalker and Aphra make their way to Sason Temple and battle the electromagnetic storm and crystalized guardians blocking entry to the ancient site. The tomb-raiding mission ends with Luke and Aphra falling down into a pool within Sason Temple – only to find Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura standing over them with Lightsabers drawn. 

How Are Shaak Ti & Aayla Secura Still Alive?

As stated, Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura got their own fair share of the spotlight during the Fall of the Jedi era of the Star Wars franchise. To that point: we actually saw both Jedi Masters fall onscreen, making this resurrection even harder to swallow.

Aayla Secura is the Jedi seen on a jungle planet during Revenge of the Sith's Order 66 sequence: we see her Clone Troopers turn on her and shoot her down – although her actual corpse is hidden by the leaves of foliage in the jungle. 

Shaak Ti's death was less "official" in Star Wars canon – but way more numerous: Revenge of the Sith deleted scenes actually had two different death scenarios for the Jedi Council Member: one on the lightsaber blade of General Grievous, the other on Anakin/Darth Vader's blade, as he cuts her down in mid-meditation during the attack on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Clone Wars went further, revealing an early vision Ti had of her own death, battling Vader.

Obviously, there's now room for Star Wars to retcon Shaak Ti's death. The Jedi Council Member's vision of her death could be made into the very reason she escaped it – and the message Aphra found becomes a further retcon, in which Secura survived her wounds during Order 66 and was contacted by Ti to both go into hiding and protect Sason Temple. 

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