Darth Plagueis made his canon debut inThe Acolyte, and incredible new concept art features the Sith Lord with his iconic lightsaber. The legendary master of Darth Sidious,Darth Plagueiswas first mentioned inStar Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. According to Palpatine, he was so powerful he had even conquered death - an idea Anakin Skywalker understandably found appealing. Incredibly, it wasn’t untilThe Acolyte’s ending- some 19 years later - that Plagueis made his live-action debut.
Concept artistSaby Menyheihas shared some of his work on Twitter, with an incredible recreation of the Muun Sith Lord. The first image essentially predicts his appearance - skulking in the shadows of a cave - whilethe second gives a glimpse of Plagueis' red lightsaber. It’s an intriguing design for a lightsaber hilt, with jagged edges giving it a savage feel. Where other Sith depend on trick lightsabers, this appears to be a basic but elegant design.
What Darth Plagueis' Canon Debut Means For Star Wars
Little is known of Darth Plagueis in canon. His Legends story was told inPlagueisby James Luceno, one of the finalExpanded Universebooks to be published; many consider it quasi-canon, because Luceno is believed to have coordinated closely with George Lucas himself when working on the novel. That said, some details have already been contradicted in canon;Plagueisreveals the Sith Lord was alive during some events ofStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, where canon has suggested that wasn’t the case.
Plagueis only made a brief appearance inThe Acolyte, and his actual role was unknown. Was he the mentor of Qimir, the Sith Lord known as the Stranger, meaning he was supervising his apprentice as Qimir planned to overthrow his master as per theRule of Two? Or were there actually rival factions of Sith, with Plagueis watching over Qimir and Osha, planning their deaths?The Acolyte’s cancelation sadly means these questions may never be answered.
Our Take On Darth Plagueis & The Acolyte
Palpatine told Anakin Skywalker “the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.” The character’s real tragedy, though, seems to be that he made his live-action debut as setup forThe Acolyteseason 2, a tale that will never be told.The Acolytemade the mistake of leaving its most intriguing and exciting ideas for the future; no TV show should ever assume a second season, meaning the story should wrap up as completely as it possibly can. As it stands,The Acolyte’s Darth Plagueis scene now feels like a promise that will never be fulfilled, and that’s such a shame.
As exciting as this new concept art may be, it just serves to underscore the problem. Darth Plagueis was only ever seen skulking in the shadows (perfectly in-character for the Sith Lord whose Legends tale was told by Luceno). WithThe Acolytecanceled, the odds of ever seeing him wielding his lightsaber are so very low.
