Force ghost The Force ghost was the soul and essence of a deceased Force - sensitive who denied the will of the Force upon death , yet was able to interact with the living , albeit not physically . Some Sith Lords learned similar techniques , which in some cases allowed them to physically interact with their environment . Description . While most Jedi would lose their bodily envelope and become one with the totality of the Force upon their death , some had learned a technique allowing them to retain their own identities separate from the Force for a time . Those individuals could linger in the physical world in the form of " Force Spirits , " nonphysical entities that exhibited most traits and abilities they had in life . According to the knowledge contained in Asli Krimsan ' s holocron , that feat could be achieved by sublimating one ' s organic cells into a state of pure energy . In its " normal " state , a Force Spirit could only interact with other noncorporeal entities . In order to be heard or seen by the living , the Spirit had to manifest itself . There were different types of manifestation . On a basic level , a Force ghost could appear as a floating , milky gray mass of energy that lacked distinctive features . But it could also manifest itself as the exact image of the dead being during their lifetime , only transparent and emitting a bluish glow . While it could appear to anyone it wished , a spirit could not choose to become audible or visible to only some beings and not the others , since the ability to perceive the manifestation depended on the beholder ' s strength in the Force . While many Force ghosts could appear as a vision of their former selves unmarked by injury or disease , others still bore the marks of what killed them . The ghost of Aidan Bok wore tattered robes and had gaping wounds in its body , the marks left by a lightsaber . Sometimes , a particular Force ghost would bind itself to a Force - sensitive as a guardian spirit for the purpose of providing wisdom , continuing training , and offering aid . In theory , Force spirits could neither harm or be harmed by physical entities , due to their spiritual nature . For the same reason , they could pass through solid matter effortlessly and were never hampered in their movements . While some spirits would simulate the walk of the living beings , subject to gravity , others would hover and drift above ground level . However , in some cases , a spirit could acquire temporary solidity by drawing on a living creature ' s link with the Force , which allowed it to actually touch that creature . Notably , the ghost of Aidan Bok could make itself solid enough to shove Tash Arranda through a doorway . A manifested spirit could wield Force powers , although not all of them . It also had the ability to travel instantaneously to any point in the galaxy by force of will . That power , however , required that the spirit be familiar with the destination . The presence of the Force at the place of arrival was also necessary for that ability to work , since it acted as a beacon . History . According to the Jedi tradition , death was a part of life , and it meant becoming one with the Force . In death , sentients lost their ability to communicate with the living , but mastery of certain obscure paths of learning could avert it . The origins of that knowledge , as well as its history , are not known . Ancient Jedi of the Galactic Republic such as Arca Jeth , as well as Sith Lords , knew a secret which could enable the user ' s essence to " survive death " , but this knowledge was somehow lost over the millennia . However , it was secretly preserved over the millennia by the native Ysanna , descendants of Jedi trapped on the world and slowly driven to barbarism . Rediscovery . Qui - Gon Jinn was the first of the recent Jedi who rediscovered this secret with the assistance of a shaman of the Whills . Qui - Gon ' s spirit guided Yoda and Obi - Wan Kenobi and revealed to them the secret of retaining one ' s individuality after becoming one with the Force . Yoda during his exile taught it to another Jedi Master , Qu Rahn . The Dark Woman also learned of it at some point . Death for those Jedi were different : their spirits could retain their individuality and could return as voices , dreams , or apparitions at will , so that they could help those in need of their guidance . On death , their bodies vanished ; this was not the case with Qui - Gon , however . This state was temporary , as Force ghosts were an intermediate state between life and afterlife ; after a certain amount of time , they would then have to move on to the Netherworld of the Force , another realm of existence . Darth Vader learned of this ability through Darth Sidious , and upon his death , the spirits of Kenobi and Yoda completed his training by granting him the last step in becoming a spirit . Anakin ' s spirit appeared as that of his younger self , prior to his fall to the dark side . Similar techniques . Certain Sith Lords had also discovered similar techniques . Occasionally their bodies would fade as Jedi would , though like Jedi this was not a prerequisite for becoming a Force ghost . It was not uncommon for the spirits of Sith Lords to remain , bound to the living world through an object , location , or simply due to the force of their malice and hatred . Unlike the Jedi , however , the Sith found little peace in this form , instead existing for restless centuries , eventually driven insane by solitude , memories , or dark side inflicted madness . In many ways , these techniques differed from those taught by the Jedi ; the most distinct difference being the user ' s limited ability to interact with his surroundings . One proficient Sith user of these techniques was Exar Kun . Notable Sith such as Darth Andeddu and Darth Bane feared their own mortality rather than embracing it and becoming ghosts of the Force such as their Jedi counterparts . Due to this fact they sought ways to escape death and live on indefinitely . Though there was much speculation , Bane ' s body did not disappear and become one with the Force when he died . His soul was absorbed into his apprentice ' s body and dominated by her soul leaving behind only a trace of his soul . In this case and many others the Sith lived on only in the small essences of their souls that they embedded into their Sith holocron ' s . Where as the many Jedi who believed that there was no death only the Force lived on forever through the acceptance of their death . The Sith believed that the Force would free them and break their chains that bound them to their mortal coil . Behind the scenes . Retcon . During the original trilogy , fans and Expanded Universe writers believed that this happened to all Jedi who died , even fallen Jedi who repented at the end of their lives , such as Darth Vader and the Jedi Ulic Qel - Droma . In the latter case , the vanishing was a sign that his spirit was redeemed . In works such as " " , most Jedi who die are seen dissolving , and sometimes later appearing as ghosts . Many questions arose during " " , when Qui - Gon Jinn ' s body did not vanish after his duel with Darth Maul , and instead was cremated on a Jedi funeral pyre like Vader . In " " it is made known that " dying AND maintaining one ' s identity " is not in fact what happens to every Jedi , but an ability acquired by Qui - Gon ' s spirit and passed on to Yoda and Obi Wan . Qui - Gon Jinn and other differences . Qui - Gon Jinn was the first character to show " Star Wars " audiences that not all Jedi became Force ghosts upon dying ( by virtue of his body not disappearing at death ) , but he was established in " " as a voice addressing Anakin Skywalker , and also in " Revenge of the Sith " as the first G - canon character to learn how to become a Force ghost , despite his body not disappearing at death . The implication is that one can learn how to be a Force ghost even after dying a standard death . Mara Jade Skywalker did something similar after dying . She only faded away when Jacen ( secretly Darth Caedus ) entered the room in a last - ditch effort to inform the Jedi about him , which would seem to imply that a Force - user who has mastered the ability to turn into a Force ghost has control of their body . Qui - Gon Jinn , as a Force ghost , is also seen to appear to both Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in the " " animated series episode , " Ghosts of Mortis . " Anakin Skywalker . It is explicitly stated in " Champions of the Force " and the Databank on the official site that the organic part of Anakin ' s body disappeared , and that Luke just burned his suit and mechanical parts for ritualistic purposes . Controversy sparked when , in the DVD of " " , Sebastian Shaw ' s Force ghost was replaced by that of Hayden Christensen ' s image , thus removing Shaw ' s Force ghost from canon and placing Christensen ' s in its stead . Other problems . Another problem that remains to be retcon ned is the existence of spirits of Sith and Dark Jedi . In both the and the of " Revenge of the Sith " , the spirit of Qui - Gon Jinn tells Yoda that only light - siders may live on as Force ghosts , and that this is something that dark - siders cannot learn . However , in " " , Darth Sidious ( who mastered and perfected the technique with the use of clone bodies himself ) reveals that the ancient Sith Lords once had the ability to " survive death " , but this knowledge was somehow lost over time . It is unclear which Sith Lords qualify as " ancient " in this context , although Skere Kaan and Qordis were the last known Sith to have escaped being lost in the Netherworld of the Force before Palpatine . It could be possible that Qui - Gon was misinformed or rather the concept of it only applying to Light side users was simply one of his many ( often radical ) theories . There is also the distinct possibility that light side Force ghosts and dark side Force ghosts are fundamentally different , and that ' s what Qui - Gon meant . Indeed Jedi Force ghosts seem to be " freed " into the netherworld by the passing of their physical forms and conversely , Sith Force ghosts seem to be " trapped " or attached by death , be it to a relic ( the Muur Talisman , Ulic Qel - Droma ' s Sith amulet , etc . ) or to specific locations ( such as the Massassi Temples in Yavin IV , ancient Sith tombs , etc . ) . This however has yet to be confirmed . This question applies to non - Jedi , such as Morgan Katarn who have appeared in that form . It is assumed that spirits of Force - sensitives , although not fully trained Jedi when they lived , can be manifested by the Force in a Force nexus ( places where it is extremely strong ) , such as the Valley of the Jedi . Also , the Sith Lord Ajunta Pall lived on through the Force in such a manner as a Force ghost , though it is relatively unknown how or why he remained . However , it can be speculated that his extreme rage and anger made his presence linger . This has been applied to Exar Kun , who used the dark side to feed off of the life force of the Massassi just before he died . It may be possible that spirits of other Sith Lords latched onto a place strong in the dark side , feeding off of it like a parasite . The process may be explained in a future novel or other source . Non - canon . The non - canonical characters Tag Greenley and Bink Otauna become Force - ghosts after dying in the explosion of the second Death Star , and appeared on Endor next to Obi - Wan , Yoda , and both a younger and older vision of Anakin Skywalker . Mace Windu appears as a Force ghost in the alternate history comic " " in a vision to Darth Vader , though this may only be a mental vision in Vader ' s mind as opposed to an actual Force ghost . The Force ghost versions of Anakin Skywalker , Yoda , and Ben Kenobi are playable characters on " " and " " . In the " Star Wars Tales " story " Skippy the Jedi Droid " , the title character ( otherwise known as R5 - D4 ) becomes a Force ghost following his destruction by the Empire . In the " " special , Jar Jar Binks is turned into a Force ghost after Darth Vader ejects him from an airlock . " " depicts that Obi - Wan ' s Force ghost is able to be affected by Starkiller ' s Force attacks , including Force lightning .