From the earliest days of the Star Wars Expanded Universe to the post-Disney movies and shows, our favorite galaxy far, far away has had an apparent continuity problem. The Original Trilogy made it seem like the only Jedi left in the galaxy were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, but we keep finding out that more and more of these space wizards survived the Imperial purge. However, this apparent Star Wars continuity problem is solved by a single line of dialogue: right after Grand Moff Tarkin says “The Jedi are extinct” he says “their fire has gone out of the universe” and is clearly speaking metaphorically.

Surviving Jedi

Most Star Wars fans who complain about the Jedi-related continuity problems refer back to Tarkin’s line about the Jedi being “extinct.” If that’s the case, it doesn’t really make sense that such prominent Jedi are still running around, including knights like Kanan Jarrus and younglings like Grogu.

There are also plenty of former Jedi still very much alive in this period, including Ahsoka Tano and Baylan Skoll.

Historically, Star Wars fans have considered these apparent continuity problems as retcons to the Original Trilogy, which makes sense. Retcons were common even in the first movies—remember when Obi-Wan said that Luke Skywalker was their “last hope” and Yoda told him “there is another?”

This was retroactively explained to be Leia, but when The Empire Strikes Back was first written, this line was most likely a reference to Nellith Skywalker, a long-lost Jedi originally intended to be Luke’s sister and the star of a planned sequel trilogy (eat your heart out, Rey).

Tarkin

Don’t worry—I’m not taking us into the dense asteroid field of Star Wars continuity issues or discarded plans for previous movies. Instead, I want to illustrate that these aren’t the continuity problems you’re looking for when you consider a very basic explanation.

Simply put, Tarkin was likely being metaphorical when he referred to “extinct” Jedi, which is why the very next line mentioned how “their fire has gone out of the universe.”

He Wasn’t Being Literal

Tarkin understands the powers of Darth Vader and most likely the Emperor better than anyone, so he knows that other powerful Force users exist in the galaxy.

Tarkin seems brutally pragmatic, so I doubt he is making the kinds of distinctions fans obsess over about whether those Force users are Jedi, Sith, “gray,” or whatever—he just cares about who has the power to stop the endless Imperial march of conquest.

He wouldn’t literally think that all such Force users have been successfully hunted and killed throughout the entire galaxy in a period of only 18 years, especially because he shares a break room with one of them.

The Disgraced Jedi

Instead, this Star Wars villain side-steps potential continuity issues by emphasizing that “extinct” is more a reference to the Jedi losing “their fire.” To him, it wasn’t that long ago that the Jedi were an army of space wizards with no real oversight who had the power to overthrow the government, and on top of that, they were beloved by almost everyone in the Old Republic.

Now, the Jedi are publicly disgraced, almost entirely exterminated, and completely unable to influence galactic affairs, especially since any survivors are just holed up in the middle of nowhere (like Tattooine and Dagobah).

Let It Go

Obviously, the Disney era of Star Wars has taken a lightsaber stab at this continuity issue, introducing characters like the Inquisitors and showing how they hunted down surviving Jedi.

That doesn’t really address Tarkin’s “Jedi are extinct” claim, but I will die and become a Force ghost on the hill that the franchise doesn’t need to address this. The guy was clearly being metaphorical, and angry Star Wars fans who can’t find any grass to touch can do the next best thing by not taking everything in a galaxy far, far away so freaking literally.