Jedi (/ˈdʒɛdaɪ/ ), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are fictional characters, and often protagonists, featured in many works within the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order is depicted as a religious, academic, meritocratic, and military-auxiliary (peacekeeping) organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the Star Wars feature films. The fictional organization has inspired a minor real-world new religious movement and online community: Jediism.
Within the Star Wars galaxy, the Jedi Order are powerful guardians of order and justice who, through intuition, rigorous training, and intensive self-discipline, are able to wield a supernatural power known as the Force, thus achieving the ability to move objects with the mind, perform incredible feats of strength, perceive events that are distant in time or space, and connect to certain people's thoughts. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, explains that the Jedi are "warrior-monks who keep peace in the universe", avoiding the use of violence except as a last resort, with a mission to "use their power to keep the governments of all the planets in line, so that they don't do terrible things". The Jedi have the "moral authority to do that" since they are "the most moral of anybody in the galaxy". Throughout the franchise, Jedi are often recognizable by their robes and tunics in various shades of brown and their use of lightsabers: sword-like weapons with colorful blades made of plasma.