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Inspired by a comment here:

"I thought that only Master Yoda and Obi Wan escaped the massacre.... I dont understand how all this is changed now"

In the scope / original supporting materials of the original trilogy, was it ever actually said that Kenobi and Yoda are the only Jedi left? Granted, they are the only Jedi we see or hear about, but, was that Lucas's original intent / statements for them to be the last survivors or just the ones we meet in this particular corner of the galaxy? I can understand why such a statement as the one above could be reached by just watching the original films, but I don't recall it ever being officially stated.

  • for the purposes of this question, Anakin doesn't count :)
  • note the Legends tag, because obviously, new canon renders the point entirely moot
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NKCampbell
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  • So you want something that pre-dates Star Wars: Rebels but is part of the original "G-Canon"? – Valorum Jun 30 '16 at 13:41
  • @Valorum - I'll certainly take secondary canon / EU if it comes to that, but certainly anything pre-Disney. I'd say even Episode III leaves room to believe that other Jedi survived other than these two, so looking for things from the past that might lead one to think this (other than just assuming it) – NKCampbell Jun 30 '16 at 13:46
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    Pre-EU, as discussed here, it's a little fuzzy. During development, Ben and Yoda don't seem to know if there's anyone else, and Lucas' comments are ambiguous whether or not he envisioned whether or not anyone other than Leia was out there. – phantom42 Jun 30 '16 at 13:51
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    In the EU canon, hundreds of Jedi survived the purge. Basically every author was allowed to come up with their own Jedi as long as they didn't come into contact with/conflict with the main Skywalker plotline. – Valorum Jun 30 '16 at 13:53

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Per the Empire Strikes Back official novelisation, Yoda specifically refers to Luke as being the last (active) Jedi in the Galaxy.

“Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor,” Ben emphasized. “If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path—as Vader did—you will become an agent of evil, and the galaxy will be plunged deeper into the abyss of hate and despair.”
“Stopped they must be,” Yoda interjected. “Do you hear? On this all depends.” “You are the last Jedi, Luke. You are our only hope. Be patient.”
“And sacrifice Han and Leia?” the youth asked incredulously.

The Empire Strikes Back: Official Novelisation

This ties in very nicely with the script from Return of the Jedi

YODA: Luke...Luke...Do not...Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate, you will. Luke, when gone am I (cough),
the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned, Luke...
(with great effort)
There is...another...Sky...Sky...walker.

Valorum
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  • woah - I have no memory of that quote. Going to have to check into that – NKCampbell Jun 30 '16 at 13:49
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    The quote from the movie is different. Luke isn't told he's the last jedi, just that he was their only hope to defeat the emperor. – phantom42 Jun 30 '16 at 13:53
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    @phantom42 - Which is why I've noted that it comes from the G-Canon novelisation not once but twice. – Valorum Jun 30 '16 at 14:10
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    Reply was to NKCampbell explaining why he probably didn't recall it, particularly since your original edit didn't mention that it was from the novelization. – phantom42 Jun 30 '16 at 14:11
  • @Valorum - also, the cited conversation happened in Empire Strikes Back, not Jedi (unless in the Jedi novelization this is a flashback). Also also, if Obi-Wan was trained by Yoda...maybe that is where he learned how to lie ;) – NKCampbell Jun 30 '16 at 14:15
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    @phantom42 "When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be." is the quote from the movie, I thought. Seems pretty definitive. – Roger Jun 30 '16 at 14:46
  • @Roger - that's a solid answer – NKCampbell Jun 30 '16 at 14:50
  • Are these quotes being spoken with definitive certainty by the characters, or is there an implicit "that we know of" in the conversational context? – Ellesedil Jun 30 '16 at 15:33
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    @Ellesedil - Well, both Yoda and Ben show an alarming lack of candour with Luke, largely because they expect him to either go off half-cocked or, later, because they seem to expect that he'll get captured and spill his guts to the Emperor – Valorum Jun 30 '16 at 15:35
  • Agree -if it were Kenobi that said I'd almost certainly say it was a known half-truth at best. Yoda makes it a bit more interesting, however, that comment doesn't fully answer whether those two were the only ones to survive the original massacre, just that, to Yoda, they were the last ones left. Barring other answers this seems like the closest we can get – NKCampbell Jun 30 '16 at 16:00
  • Well, considering the prevalence of the dark side and how it made things very difficult for Yoda to perceive things during the prequels, I don't think Yoda's assertion is a slam-dunk sure thing. I don't see that really getting any easier after Anakin's fall and the Emperor taking complete control of the galaxy. But I agree that it is more credible than Obi-Wan. – Ellesedil Jun 30 '16 at 16:33
  • anything from the prequels doesn't really count for this question though sadly @Ellesedil – NKCampbell Jun 30 '16 at 16:41
  • @NKCampbell: Really? I thought the stipulation was simply pre-Disney. I guess the cut-off for your question isn't really clear then. – Ellesedil Jun 30 '16 at 16:42
  • @Ellesedil - OP specified G-Canon or C-Canon from the old, pre-Disney canon scale. I've chosen to focus solely on G-Canon as most of the C-Canon stuff is pure crapola; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_expanded_universe#Official_levels_of_canon – Valorum Jun 30 '16 at 16:44
  • Well, G-Canon means prequels. So now I'm really confused. – Ellesedil Jun 30 '16 at 16:45
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    @Ellesedil - He wanted G-Canon pre-sequel trilogy. – Valorum Jun 30 '16 at 16:51
  • I see now. Thanks. – Ellesedil Jun 30 '16 at 16:52
  • "G-Canon pre-sequel trilogy" - aka: the real deal - aka: the Star Wars trilogy .... the "original". This seriously needs its own tag. – Mazura Jun 30 '16 at 23:50