The Qui-Gon Theory That Changes Star Wars For Me

A theory sent in by a viewer of the channel has me really thinking. Did qui-gon see his death just before it happened?
In the phantom menace, qui-gon, maul, and obi-wan are all separated by plasma shields, as we see qui-gon meditating, while maul paces back and forth. This is a perfect example of sith vs jedi training and mentality.
The theory here is, was qui-gon calming his thoughts and replenishing his energy while he waited for the shields to go down? Or was he actually able to see into the future, and see his death? Knowing that this was the will of the force.
Qui-Gon was extremely dedicated to the will of the force, essentially saying, if that’s how it happens, then that’s how it’s meant to be, it’s fate. Whereas the jedi started to bend the force to their will, by fighting for political ideologies and becoming disillusioned with how the force was used for thousands of years, partially why Dooku left the order.
So while qui-gon was meditating, maybe he actually saw that he was going to die, and instead of changing it, he allowed it to happen. If he didn’t, he would have gone on to train the boy, and Anakin Skywalker wouldn’t have turned to the dark side. He’d have had qui-gon to discuss all of his issues, including his dreams about his mother suffering and padme dying. I believe qui-gon could have made anakin the jedi master everyone hoped he would become. But then what…Anakin would go on to lead the jedi order for the rest of his years, training many jedi and protecting the galaxy…that wasn’t balance like the force wanted. It was what the jedi wanted. It was their prophecy, not the true prophecy of the force, which in the end did bring the final end of the sith. See, I think in order for their to have been balance, wasn’t for anakin to live, but for him to die. There was darkness in him waiting to take over like a symbiote, and once the right circumstances arrived, such as padme needing to be saved, and palpatine having the answer, his darkness fully enveloped him and he became Darth Vader.
So maybe qui-gon knew that if he did indeed stall until obi-wan joined him to fight maul, that he would be acting against the will of the force entirely. Maybe he knew that Obi-Wan would fail, and it must be no other way. For if he was alive, so many things would have changed. Luke probably would have been raised at the jedi temple, assuming anakin still had kids, and Palpatine would have perhaps manipulated Luke or Leia, if he couldn’t have anakin, he’d have their children turn into Sith Lords from a younger age, which could have been even more devastating because Anakin would have died for them, maybe like Han Solo to kylo, then what.

Qui-Gon might have seen many different outcomes we’re not aware of, now this is just my mind doing its thing, but I imagine the untold story of what Qui-Gon saw during this brief meditation could be rewritten someday, and heck, that could be kinda cool. It would just add to his overall arc by making him sacrificial for the greater good. Things always have to get worse before they get better, nothing ever just starts great and ends up greater, that’s not real life, and it’s not proper storytelling.

I hope you guys enjoyed this theory, shoutout to the viewer who came up with the thought provoking question.

Continue the conversation on the Theory forums!

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[StarWarsTheory]

What do you think? Was it the will of the force telling Qui-Gon he was about to die, and MUST die?

[gutz]

I still think Qui-Gon was the best example of what a Jedi should be.

[limzmecha]

I feel as though Qui Gon Jin is the perfect Jedi. He is not blinded by the jedi counsel and truly listens to the force.

[alexcorll]

That simple scene where Qui Gon pauses to meditate is one of the most memorable for me in all the movies. I'm serious. Without any dialogue, the whole juxtaposition of the Sith vs the Jedi is explained.

[ShawHortonMusic]

Qui-Gon was a great character. I really hope Liam Neeson reprises the role for the Kenobi show as a force ghost, it would be a good way to capitalize on that setup at the end of ROTS.

[SheevPalps]

I would love a Qui-Gon series or even a movie. He’s such a cool character that represents what a Jedi is, I’d love to learn more about his past.

[RaTrooper]

Qui-Gon deserves his own animated show. The books about him tell interesting stories.

Ofcourse voiced by Neeson

[gamesetlive]

Qui-Gon was slowly becoming more and more one with the force. I could definitely see him coming to peace with what was about to happen as the Force maybe gave him a peek at what would happen.

He was the greatest Jedi and made TPM for me.

[MrRedtiger]

I've always felt that Qui Gon Jin actually allowed himself to be killed... To allow Anakin to bring balance to the force whether Jedi or Sith

[mirael]

I always felt like they wasted Qui-Gon as a character because I really liked him. But his death makes a lot more sense now. Thank you.

[Indiana_Minotaur]

That quote: "Things have to get worse before they get better; nothing ever starts out great and ends up greater that's not real life" really hits in the feels and it is a quote that many should follow.

[hunterkiller]

I think Qui Gon was trying to calm his mind. Perhaps he's hearing too much of the Wills during this fight and it's distracting him.

[trevorchivers]

Which puts more depth to Yoda's quote "Failed, I have." He didn't just fail to defeat Palpatine and the Sith, he had failed to understand The Force.

[myles]

Qui Gon is probably the most underrated character. I love the backstory of him and Dooku.

[xlukesnipes]

Qui-Gon is such a cool character. Wish he had more screen time

[Jadon]

This theory actually makes a lot of sense, especially considering the way so Obi-Wan died

[ErikvO]

One problem with this theory: The entire reason this mess started is because Qui-Gon doesn't believe in looking to the future, he told Obi-Wan to focus on the here and now instead of the future when they were sitting in a room waiting for the Trade Federation for supposedly routine negotiations and Obi-Wan started sensing something would go wrong, why would he ever start going against that philosophy right in the middle of a life-and-death fight where focusing on the here and now is actually a really good idea.

[Zeroxore]

I love this theory and I believe that he did see the future, and when he was laying there before he died and asked Obi-Wan to promise him to "Train the boy. He is the chosen one, he will bring balance", I like to believe he was lingering on his vision and referring to Luke Skywalker.

[danielclark]

I've heard another theorist say that Anakin wasn't so much "undone", as he was more like an accident waiting to happen.

[nicholasgerken]

I think we’ll learn more about this in the upcoming Kenobi series. There’s bound to be a scene where Kenobi communes with Qui Gon.