Rey and the Force Ghosts could train the next generation of Jedi in Star Wars. The Skywalker Saga has come to a close with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the Sith have suffered their greatest defeat, with Emperor Palpatine blasted into oblivion by his own Force Lightning. Rey triumphed with the help of the Force Ghosts, and heard the mysterious voices of all the Jedi of the past.
The end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker saw Rey head to Tatooine, where she buried Luke and Leia's lightsabers in a scene vaguely evocative of Arthurian legend. Director J.J. Abrams revealed Rey has constructed her own lightsaber, something of a rite of passage for a Jedi; Rey's is a distinctive yellow, evoking a sense of balance. It's also constructed from parts of her old staff from Jakku, suggesting she has accepted her past.
The general assumption is that Rey will restore the Jedi Order, setting up the future of the Star Wars galaxy. Although it looks unlikely to happen on the big screen - the sequel trilogy didn't exactly come to a critically acclaimed conclusion - it's only a matter of time before the story continues in tie-ins of some kind. Fortunately, it's now becoming clear Rey has help.
The Force Ghosts Taught Leia... And Can Teach Others
The novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals Leia was actually taught by the Force Ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi - and even, occasionally, Jedi Master Yoda. "Leia was no Jedi Master," the novelization explains, "but she had learned from the best. And not just from Luke; over the years she'd occasionally heard the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi through the Force, and even more rarely, that of Yoda. Some days it had felt as though she'd learned from the Force itself." It looks as though the Force Ghosts took over Leia's education after Luke Skywalker exiled himself, and they were responsible for her becoming a powerful Jedi Knight in her own right.
In the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, Force Ghosts could only appear for a certain period of time before they were forced to move on to another plane of existence for good. Although Disney has adopted a lot of old EU lore into their new canon, they seem to have dropped this completely; and there's a good reason. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ended with both Luke and Leia joining the ranks of the Force Ghosts, meaning they are now functionally immortal. While Lucasfilm will naturally be wary of dishonoring the memory of Carrie Fisher by integrating Leia into a movie plot, Mark Hamill could reprise Luke Skywalker with ease. As such, there's a sense in which the Skywalker Saga will never truly end; the Force Ghosts could easily appear in tie-in media set after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while Hamill could return as a Force Ghost in any movie.
There Are Still Force-Sensitives Across The Galaxy
Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made it quite clear there are indeed Force-sensitives across the galaxy just waiting to be trained. One of them is Finn, who had clearly learned his potential, and spent most of the film trying to find the right opportunity to tell Rey. He already appears to have developed a nascent Master-Padawan bond with Rey, sensing aspects of her emotional state and whether or not she's alive. The script implies - but doesn't officially state - that Finn's latent Force-sensitivity was the reason the First Order's Stormtrooper conditioning didn't work on him. If this is indeed the case, then all the other ex-Stormtroopers he encountered on Kef Bir could have the Force as well - including Jannah.
In the build-up to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm published a range of tie-in novels that subtly made the same point; the next generation of Force-sensitives are out there, just waiting to be trained. Kevin Shinick's Force Collector introduced readers to a teenage boy named Karr who possessed the Force power of psychometry, an ability to perceive an object's past when he comes into contact with it. Although Karr is no Jedi, he clearly has the potential, and his ability would make him invaluable to Rey as she rebuilds the Jedi Order. Delilah S. Dawson's Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire introduced a group called the Gatherers, who have been committed to spreading the teachings of the Jedi and had been collecting Jedi artifacts - including Kyber Crystals. The Gatherers possessed a low level of Force-sensitivity, and indicated they were being led to do this by the Force itself. It's entirely possible they were actually working for the Force Ghosts, preparing resources for the new Jedi Order.
The Future Jedi Order Would Be Very Different To The Old Jedi Order
There's clear potential for Rey to serve as a mentor to these new Jedi, ably assisted by the various Force Ghosts. But it's important to note that Rey will have a very different philosophy of the Force to the one traditionally espoused by Master Yoda; the yellow lightsaber is best seen as a hint she's committed to the balance of the Force, rather than to the light or dark side. She's been studying texts dating back to the very formation of the Jedi Order, and there's evidence these early Jedi considered balance an aspect of the Force, like light or dark. Indeed, a mural of the Prime Jedi shown in Star Wars: The Last Jedi suggested he was a servant of balance, rather than bound to the light. The mural depicted the Prime Jedi at the center of a symbol akin to the yin and yang, with the Prime Jedi representing the darkness in the light, and the light in the darkness.
The Force Ghosts would probably help Rey in her mission to both restore and reform the Jedi Order. Qui-Gon Jinn is a maverick, and his Force Ghost was accepted as mentor by both Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke Skywalker was the one who collected the books Rey has been reading in the first place, meaning he's probably open to the prospect of a philosophical reformation. And even Master Yoda learned humility after his defeat in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, with Matt Stover's novelization revealing he came to understand his views were flawed. Thus every one of the Force Ghosts can be reasonably expected to help Rey in her mission to redefine the Jedi Order - setting up some fascinating stories for the future of Star Wars.