Ancient Order of the Whills

The Ancient Order of the Whills was a community of beings deeply connected with the Force who wrote the Journal of the Whills. The Whills consisted of the Shaman of the Whills.
==History==
One of their shamans was known to have discovered the secret of eternal consciousness, and later Qui-Gon Jinn learned the secret, allowing him to interact with the living after his death.The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The Whills kept a collection of stories, called the Journal of the Whills, that chronicled the history of the galaxy. A Keeper of the Whills was responsible for adding new information to it. One such Keeper was told the story of the Skywalker family's exploits during the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War, by the astromech droid R2-D2 one hundred years after the Battle of Endor.The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith
==Behind the scenes==
In early drafts of A New Hope, the name "Whills" is equivalent to the Force.
It is a common misconception that "Whill" is the name of the unknown species of Yoda. George Lucas has firmly denied this. Because their form is totally unknown, and since the Whills were an early concept of the Force, some fans have speculated that the Whills are of spiritual substance more or less like Wisties and probably immortal. However, this is unlikely, as Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith: Illustrated Screenplay and The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith both have Qui-Gon Jinn stating that he knew of only one Shaman who had achieved immortality. However, Qui-Gon also states in the Revenge of the Sith novelization that immortality is a possible result of working with the Whills' teachings.
Since the journal was composed in 104 ABY, it's possible that the events explored in the Star Wars: Legacy were not part of the narration. In fact, it is unclear to what extent the narration covered the history of the galaxy as we know it.
In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Voices", it's indicated that Jinn learned the secrets of immortality from the Force Priestesses, but his training was incomplete. What, if any, connection the Force Priestesses have to the Shaman of the Whills that Jinn mentions in the script for Revenge of the Sith is unknown.
George Lucas originally planned a sequel trilogy focusing on the Whills as microscopic beings that controlled the universe, feeding off the Force. Later, by selling Lucasfilm Ltd. to The Walt Disney Company, these plans for the sequel trilogy were dropped by Disney CEO Bob Iger.
==Appearances==
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*Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith novelization 
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*The Last of the Jedi: The Desperate Mission 
*The Last of the Jedi: Dark Warning 
*Star Wars: A New Hope novelization 
==Sources==
*Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
*Star Wars Chronicles
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*Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith Illustrated Screenplay
*The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
*The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith
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*The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film
*Star Wars Insider 93
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force
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*Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
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==Notes and references==
Category:Force-based organizations
Category:Undefined social groups