Published May 4, 2026, 11:01 AM EDT In Ahsoka and beyond, the old Jedi beliefs are giving way to something unknowable and far more unsettling Star Wars is becoming cosmic horror, as creators spin the Force beyond light and dark Image: Lucasfilm Ltd. Star Wars has always been rooted in cosmic horror — that element is only starting to poke through the seams now, 49 years after A New Hope . The catalyst for underlying dread is one of the franchise’s most popular narrative devices: the Force. Mystical and all-encompassing, it’s often framed as a metaphysical current running through the universe, or a natural energy that binds all things, balancing light and dark as part of a larger cosmic order. For decades, the Force was framed through a spiritual system governing the rules and teachings of the Jedi Order. Essentially quasi-monks, the Jedi stood as protectors of the galaxy and embodiments of the Light Side.…