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In the prequels, Anakin Skywalker's turn to the dark side starts with his revenge killing of the Tusken Raiders. Qui-Gon's voice can be heard addressing Anakin, crying "Anakin, noooo!" If he had that ability, why couldn't he warn Yoda, who was much better attuned to the force (at the time) than Anakin?

At least the Jedi Temple could have been saved later on had Yoda been a little less oblivious to the goings-on.

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  • Because Force Ghosts aren't tattle tells?
    – user11521
    Dec 18, 2015 at 19:32

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(Disclaimer: This is not backed up by canon-sources!)

That's not the way it works. Dead Jedi who "became one with the force" cannot go around intervening with the natural chain of events. Obi-Wan says this himself on Dagobah. They can only guide the living with their wisdom (not their knowledge).

He might have appeared to Anakin and convinced him that what he did was wrong and that he should tell Yoda or Obi-Wan. But he didn't choose to (as far as I know).

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    But how is "Run Luke, Run" or "Use the Force, Luke" not knowledge?
    – HNL
    Feb 8, 2012 at 2:11
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    @HNL: I would distinguish this in the following way; If he says something he would have known (and therefore could have conveyed (maybe subconsciously)) before dying, he can say this to a living being afterwards, too -- otherwise not. The rationale is that you can then explain all instances where a dead Jedi appears to somebody as hallucinations. Even if it appears that information is conveyed (like on Dagobah or in the X-Wing) it can be explained as a conversation with one's subconsciousness!
    – bitmask
    Feb 8, 2012 at 2:36
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    So when Obi Wan appeared to Luke and told him to go to Dagobah, wasn't it total interference? that was knowledge Luke had no way to acquire from any other source in my oppinion
    – Zeela
    May 22, 2013 at 8:07
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    @Zeela: That's a fair point and I don't have an explanation ready. One could only speculate whether Obi-Wan implied Dagobah while alive, or Luke heard rumours about an old Jedi-Master living on Dagobah, but it would be a bit of a stretch. It's also possible Obi-Wan made an exception and bent the rules, given that he only conveyed information that he already had before he died. The point here would be that in theory he could have told Luke about Yoda before he died, while Qui-Gon only learned about Anakins rampage after dying.
    – bitmask
    May 22, 2013 at 11:09
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    I like this theory of how force ghosts work, because you could explain as some force-based mechanism where the knowledge and wisdom of the ghost is really imprinted onto the target whenever they are together due to their close relationship. The target hallucinates or experiences the ghost when it is helpful. But no new knowledge. Some part of the dead Jedi "lives on" in their protege.
    – ThePopMachine
    Jul 15, 2014 at 19:56
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Qui Gon-Jinn had acquired the ability to confer with the living from beyond the dead sometime after his death, but this was a skill that took him many years to develop and master from beyond the grave. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Yoda tells Obi Wan that Qui Gon has acquired the skill, and that Qui Gon will teach it to Obi Wan when Obi Wan goes to Tatooine.

Basically, we're left to assume that Qui Gon didn't yet know how to talk to the living during Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

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I think Qui-Gon had just acquired the ability to manifest himself, at least in voice form, to the living. One could assume that Yoda did not hear Qui-Gon's voice before this event in Episode 2, but Qui-Gon had already been dead for almost ten years. According to the novelization of Episode 2, I believe Anakin was able to hear Qui-Gon as well.

With respect to sharing wisdom vs information, I don't believe this theory, as Obi-Wan confirmed to Luke that Vader is his father and that Leia is his sister. He told Luke new information that he did not know: that his twin sister had been hidden from the emperor and that her identity remained anonymous.

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Qui-gon showed Yoda the rise of Darth Vader in the Clone Wars series; that's how he shows Yoda that he has found a path to eternal life. Its in the final season I believe.

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  • Hi, welcome to SF&F. You can make this a much better answer by identifying the specific episode and including an exact quote.
    – DavidW
    Oct 2, 2020 at 2:10

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