Disney’s Sequel Trilogy failed to satisfy fans of the galaxy far far away. Many felt that the sequels were disconnected from the prequel movies and those that came before.
Many Star Wars fans also didn’t like how Palpatine was shoe-horned in the movie. But the list of complaints didn’t stop here. Many thought that Rey’s Palpatine heritage undermined the story that the first movie in the Sequel Trilogy was trying to tell.
Initially, the idea was to show that anyone can have and use the Force. So this sharp 180 into heritage confused many. Even Daisey Ridley understands why fans didn’t like the Palpatine heritage shoe-horning.
Other critics of the saga say that the Sequel movie would have worked better with Darth Plagueis in them. Now, he wasn’t in the films. But Lucasfilm has finally confirmed his canon appearance.
Darth Plagueis the Wise was first name-dropped by Palpatine to Anakin in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. He was supposedly able to keep people from dying.
But, Plagueis was murdered by his very own apprentice, who was, as we all know, Darth Sidious aka. Palpatine. However, this chilling tale of power-hungry beings is never revisited again.
Now, about 2 years after the conclusion of the Sequel Trilogy with The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm is finally fleshing out the identity of the legendary Darth Plagueis in a new book called Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith.
Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith
The book Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith is, in fact, a sequel to Star Wars: Secrets of the Jedi. It revealed the first in-canon look at Darth Plagueis. It was pointed out by Twitter user @JacobsQuest. Here’s the tweet:
#StarWars
At the top here seems to be our first canon look at Plagueis, just his eyes though lol https://t.co/ScLzqmh204 pic.twitter.com/G1c7A8XgDA— Jacob’s Quest (@JacobsQuest) October 15, 2021
Along with pop-ups, artwork, and inserts, Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith is a story that’s narrated by Palpatine himself. And who better to talk about this than the mysterious master himself.
In the book, there’s a page where Palpatine explains a Force Dyad and how it plays out in The Rise of Skywalker. The artwork shows a line of three-generation of Sith Lords.
In here, Darth Plagueis is at the top. Next comes Palpatine, Darth Vader, Rey, and Kylo Ren. However, even though all of the other character’s faces are distinct, but Plagueis’ image shows him in a hood with glowing eyes.
Palpatine explains that Rey and Ben Solo are Force Dyads
Star Wars books have been around for years now. But the issue is that Lucasfilm’s canon depends on their point of view. Things get more complicated because Lucasfilm relies on supplemental materials like books to fill in the gaps left by their movies.
As expected, this adds to fan frustration and confusion. This is why it’s hard to take this Plagueis inclusion seriously. Also, it needs to be said that Palpatine as a narrator is probably an unreliable source.
On the other hand, not showing Plagueis’ full face and appearance in Secrets of the Sith could mean something. In the 2012 Star Wars Legends book called Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord was a Muun.
So it’s possible that his appearance hasn’t been confirmed in canon till now because Lucasfilm has its own secret version. It also needs to be said that Plagueis and Palpatine’s vested interest in midi-chlorians, cloning, and long life has been revisited in Star Wars: The Bad Batch and, of course, The Mandalorian on Disney+.
Now, using a children’s book to reveal the mysterious Sith was definitely an odd choice. But it’s possible that it’s just laying the groundwork for Lucasfilm to finally use the legendary lord in its brand new storytelling plans on Disney+.
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