Midi-Chlorians, Symbiotes and M-Counts explained

Midi-chlorians were mentioned throughout the text Star Wars franchise, raising the question of what they are and how they connect to the Force. From Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, midichlorians were retroactively included in the series canon. While they weren't conceived as a concept during the original trilogy, Star Wars In the prequel trilogy, Lucas took up the controversial topic of midi-chloriana in Ghostly menace.

Despite midichlorians causing disruption in the environment Star Wars fans, recent stories have once again made them relevant. Shows how Star Wars: Bad Batch featuring the Midi-chlorians heavily woven into their story, even referencing New Republic stories such as The Mandalorian. Another recent one Star Wars a property associated with midi-chlorians is Acolyte. With so many references and new details about midichlorians, some viewers may need a refresher on what exactly is in them Star Wars canon.

Midi-chlorians are the key to accessing the Force

Midi-Chlorians help Force-sensitive people connect with the Force

Custom painting by Corey Larson

In the world Star WarsMidichlorians are microscopic life forms. Midi-chlorians exist in the bloodstream of all living things, and each person has a different number of Midi-chlorians in them. What makes them so important is their connection Star Wars mystical energy field like Midi-chlorians assist the being in which they live in symbiosis with the Force. Midi-chlorians can connect directly with the Force, imbuing their host with the abilities and powers that the Force grants

Initially, Midi-chlorians were so controversial that many confused them with the Force itself. WITH Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace by explaining that a high Midi-chlorian number – or M number – determines how strong the Force is, the audience assumed that Midi-chlorians explained exactly what the Force was. But that wasn't Lucas' intention. Instead, it's simply the case that the more Midi-chlorians a person has, the easier they have access to the Force. The Force remains unexplained as a mysterious energy holding the galaxy together.

IN AcolyteM-count is mentioned in reference to the characters Mae and Osha. Mae and Osha are Force-sensitive twins of mysterious origins, potentially created using the Force. IN AcolyteThe Jedi are interested in the girls because of their works, as well as their strength in the Force. Acolyte In episode 7, the Jedi test the children, revealing that they have incredibly high concentrations of midi-chlorians. Since Osha and Mae are essential to the show, their high M number could be important in future episodes Acolyte​​​​​.

Each has their own unique symbiotes

Every person in the Star Wars galaxy has an individual connection to the Midi-Chlorians

One of the Midi-chlorian elements in Star Wars is that they require symbiosis. Midi-chlorians have mutually beneficial relationships with their hosts; the hosts help the Midi-chlorians survive, and the Midi-chlorians allow their hosts to communicate with the Force. Through this connection, the Midi-chlorians and their hosts form a symbiont. These symbionts were mentioned in Acolyte episode 7 where Torbin explains that Mae and Osha have identical symbiotes. This was a surprise because each person should have a Midi-chlorian symbiote that is unique to them.

As explained throughout Star Warseach person has a different number of Midi-chlorians in their blood. Anakin Skywalkeran's midi-chlorian count, for example, is approximately 20,000. This means that for every single Anakin cell, there are 20,000 Midi-chlorians, which explains why he is so powerful in the Force. This individual number would give Anakin his own symbiote, which would be very different from the symbiote of someone with 5,000 Midi-chlorians per cell, which is the average amount of Force-sensitive beings in the galaxy.

That said, this does not mean that every person in Star Wars The universe has a different number of Midi-chlorians. Still, those who have the same number of Midi-chlorians in their blood will have a unique symbiote. The reason for this is that midi-chlorians are living things, even though they are microscopic. Therefore, the way they exist in each body will always be different, which explains the concept of the symbiote and why AcolyteThe reveal centering around Mae and Osha is incredibly important.

Why Midi-Chlorians are so difficult to transfer via cloning and injection

Midi-Chlorian cloning has been studied in recent Star Wars properties

In recent years Star Wars has involved Midi-chlorians to a much greater extent in its various projects. As mentioned, Star Wars: Bad Batch recently explored the concept of midi-chlorians in detail, as he did The Mandalorian. Both of these stories, although separated by decades in the timeline, involve the cloning of Midi-chlorians associated with Project Necromancer. Project Necromancer is a ten-year plan constructed by Palpatine to survive after death by replicating Midi-chlorians and transferring them to a clone body.

Related

Star Wars Necromancer Project and Palpatine's Resurrection Fully Explained

Star Wars fully revealed Project Necromancer and the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine with Season 3 of The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian.

Throughout Star Wars: Bad Batchexplained why it is so difficult to transfer midi-chlorians via cloning. Considering that Midi-chlorians are living creatures that live in an organism, they have specific living conditions that refer to the concept of symbionts. IN bad batch, explained that midi-chlorians must have a viable blood sample that can be combined with in order to transfer between bodies. As the Empire discovered, this proved extremely difficult. Only Omega, one of the main characters Bad batchhad a blood sample that, when combined, did not reduce the midichlorian count.

Recreating this connection so that a completely new body can communicate with the Force is extremely difficult…

While no in-depth lore is provided as to why this happened, it ties into the ethereal concept of the Force. IN Star WarsPower cannot be explained by science. Although midi-chlorians are scientific in nature, they have to do with something completely inexplicable. The power cannot be recreated, and Midi-chlorians live in a symbiotic relationship with each of their hosts. Recreating this connection so that a completely new body can commune with the Force is extremely difficult, as stories like this attest Bad batch.

Otherwise Bad batch, Acolyte it is not expected to delve into the concept of Midi-chlorian cloning. Instead, Acolyte is more focused on the ethereal, mystical side of the Force. It connects to the creation of life using Midi-chlorians through Osha and Mae and how the powers of the Dark Side can allow this to happen. As such, Acolytethe inclusion of Midi-chlorians differs significantly from recent stories involving microscopic life forms.

Will Disney's Star Wars continue to explore Midi-Chlorians?

Recent projects have mixed messages

Despite how often midi-chlorians have been referenced in recent projects, it's difficult to predict whether Disney will continue Star Wars projects will really allow us to study midi-chlorians. George Lucas planned to do this in his treatments Star Wars sequel trilogy, but Disney abandoned his ideas in favor of his own approach. Midi-chlorians were a controversial idea among fans, so Disney Star Wars he generally stuck to the mystical side of the Force and referred to midichlorians only as the “M number”. However, with Star Wars the prequels will be remembered with more fondness, perhaps new stories will allow for a deeper exploration of midi-chlorians.