When you picture the Jedi Order, who are the first faces who come to mind? Yoda? Obi-Wan? It makes sense for the Jedi you think of immediately to be ones who embody the principles of the Order. In other words, Jedi who follow the code and regularly spout words of wisdom. But I find it's fun to color outside the lines now and again. Enter Quinlan Vos.
The Kiffar Jedi was part of the Order during the time of the Galactic Republic. He had a maverick reputation that is a little reminiscent of Qui-Gon Jinn and a little of Anakin Skywalker. We know they weren't afraid of breaking the rules or going against the Council and neither is Quinlan. On top of his tendency to follow a path outside the usual rule book, Quinlan has a sarcastic tone and devil-may-care, flippant attitude. That combination means he isn't everyone's cup of tea; he wasn't voted Most Likely to Be Stoic and Silent in his Padawan graduating class.
But Vos' distinct personality helps put him near the top of our list to star in his own spinoff movie, and his particular Force skill set gives him an extra boost. Vos has the Force ability of psychometry -- he can tap into the memories of others when he touches an object they also touched. This means he has expert tracking skills. Obviously. It's because of these talents that the Jedi have found him especially suited for undercover missions. He has also, during the course of just such an endeavor, embraced the dark side of the Force in a way not many Jedi have ever come back from. Vos had a cameo in the Star Wars prequel films and co-starred in an episode from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but he got his start in Legends -- specifically in the pages of the comics. All of those mediums are standalone movie fodder, so here are some stories we have in mind:
As mentioned, Vos was sort of the go-to Jedi for undercover missions. He was at home immersing himself in another identity and blending in to the situation at hand. All too often, he found himself mixed up in the underworld. He occasionally had dealings with the Sith and the Separatists and would get in so deep he almost got lost. This theme came up in Dark Horse Comics titles repeatedly, with the Star Wars: Republic series from the early 2000s immediately jumping to mind.
Vos committed dirty deeds while trying to convince Dooku of his flip to the dark side in the comic by writer John Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema. He became so entrenched in his alter ego other Jedi largely believed Vos had given himself over the dark side. To be fair, Vos did kill on Dooku's command; he worked through the Sith's hit list. But it was all because Vos was looking for the second Sith (Rule of Two and all). While chasing the bigger fish, Vos crossed some serious lines.
Even though he was still clinging to a mission that started from the light side, think about the kind of conflict Vos must have had to process time and time again. Identity crises have to be part of his everyday existence. There's a bit of a game to him always having to convince others of his lies or truths, and I think the spy lifestyle provides the possibility for intense drama. Couple Vos' navel-gazing with the notion of a Jedi willing to go to questionable lengths to accomplish his goals, all taking place in an underworld setting, and you can practically feel the movie potential.
I've mentioned how Vos is different from most Jedi we know. Imagine his out of the box approach paired with a Jedi operating within the rules -- it's a prime opportunity for comedy. The Clone Wars explored this concept in the Season 3 episode "Hunt for Ziro." The plot put Vos and Obi-Wan Kenobi together looking for, you guessed it, Ziro. Seeing Obi-Wan in a constant state of exasperation wasn't entirely new because we'd seen him and Anakin together, but Vos was a different sort of personality.
The episode worked so well it could be the basis for an entire film. This would be more lighthearted, with plenty of space for Vos' quips and impulsiveness. He'd be excellent with a more strait-laced partner, and their mission could involve locating multiple individuals -- maybe members of a crime ring -- while showcasing Vos' tracking expertise and psychometry. Maybe it could skew in the direction of an Ocean's 11, with Vos looking for a certain group of criminals for an undercover operation.
It's time to make the leap into strictly canon source material territory and take a look at Christie Golden's Dark Disciple. The novel from 2015 is based on unproduced scripts for The Clone Wars cartoon and highlighted Vos alongside Asajj Ventress. The story touched upon Vos' unique skills and his willingness to play with fire, as he received a mission from the Jedi Council to assassinate Count Dooku! (I can't make stuff like this up.) The Council got so desperate to end the Clone Wars they pursued the assassination of the Separatist leader... Seriously. Have you ever heard of a more un-Jedi course of action? Well, besides them being active fighters in a war.
Anyway. I digress. Vos raised his eyebrows at the order but went along with the Council; he decided to ingratiate himself with Ventress because of her former relationship with and loathing of Dooku. Then, the unexpected occurred. Vos' charm plays well off others (hence the previous entry), and Ventress' biting attitude against his charisma jumped off the page -- and it could do the same in a movie.
Vos went on a journey throughout the novel, including a tragic run-in with Dooku and embrace of the Dark Side, and I can imagine it translating to the screen. He and Ventress developed a relationship as they chased leads and followed shorter adventures to their end goal -- including a fascinating stop at Dathomir, Ventress' homeworld. Vos questioned the tenets of the Jedi Order as he realized his mission was basically terrible, and that would allow for an exploration of the Jedi we need to see more of. We got a taste of it in the Season 5 finale of The Clone Wars with Barriss Offee's actions of sedition against the Jedi, and with Qui-Gon Jinn's disregard for the basic rules in The Phantom Menace, but it would be so worth watching someone grapple with the morality of the Jedi Order over the course of a film.
Plus, as with all these potential stories, we'd likely get some cool/maybe traumatizing psychometry-in-action shots!
Are you into the idea of seeing Quinlan Vos lead a standalone film? If so, let's discuss in the comments.
Amy Ratcliffe is a writer for IGN. She likes Star Wars a little. You can follow her on on Twitter at @amy_geek.
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