I’ve always wondered what force ghosts do with their time. Are they always waiting around until they’re needed? Do they hang out in an actual afterlife setting that we can’t see?
The only places we’ve physically seen force ghosts are Dagobah, Endor, and Ach-To. Two of those are planets with strong ties to the force. Yes, Ben appears to Luke on Hoth, but I think we can agree that it was taking him some effort to project himself since he was hazey. The only times we’ve only heard force ghosts were on the Death Star immediately after Ben vanished, and Takodana when Rey touched Anakin’s lightsaber. Again, it was Obi-Wan’s voice, although I’m pretty sure we can assume Rey had no clue anybody from beyond was talking to her. In TLJ novelization, Luke hears an unknown voice (likely Anakin) as he disappears.
In one of the Legends books (I forget the name) Leia sees Anakin’s force ghost, but again I forget where.
Other instances in The Clone Wars involved Qui-Gon on Mortis to Obi-Wan and Anakin, and the Jedi Temple to Yoda - where he physically interacted with Yoda by levitating him and his surroundings. Qui-Gon also speaks to Yoda right after Luke and Leia are born in a deleted scene.
If they only appear to people who know them in this canon, that makes more sense as to why they don’t solve every problem and something that people need to understand so they don’t go “why didn’t Obi-Wan and Yoda just destroy The Emperor and the 2nd Death Star?”
And Luke was on the verge of freezing to death when he did see Ben. Obi Wan was back to being a voice when Luke gets to Dagobah, but becomes very visible when Luke leaves, implying Jedi training helps with seeing Force ghosts.
The Force afterlife is either a non-corporeal existence of pure energy and thought, or it’s like Beetlejuice. 😉
