The upcoming Star Wars series, Star Wars: The Acolyte, is perfectly positioned to delve into the Sith Order’s greatest legacy in the canon universe. Following their apparent destruction, the Sith Order existed in secret, thanks to Darth Bane and the Rule of Two, which abandoned the Sith Acolyte system and allowed them to clandestinely pursue their goals without directly confronting their ancient enemies, the Jedi. While little is known about The Acolyte, its basic premise and place on the canon Star Wars timeline allow it to tell a dark Star Wars story from the perspective of a Sith Lord in Darth Bane’s lineage.
Based on what’s been revealed about The Acolyte, it will tell a story either partially or entirely from the perspective of a dark side user around a century before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, during Star Wars‘ High Republic era. The Acolyte’s showrunner, Leslye Headland, hopes to show how Palpatine, a secret Sith Lord, was able to infiltrate the Galactic Republic’s political system without the Jedi noticing. This makes the series perfect for further exploring Darth Bane’s lineage, perhaps showing a new version of Darth Tenebrous, the Sith mentor of Darth Plagueis — setting the stage for Palpatine’s eventual political scheming.
Star Wars Best Siths Haven’t Appeared On Screen (Yet)
Although Palpatine is the Star Wars saga’s ultimate villain, with unsurpassed intelligence and skill in manipulation, he didn’t overthrow the Republic single-handedly. While Palpatine controlled both sides of the Clone Wars from behind the scenes, his Sith apprentice, Count Dooku, led the Separatists publicly. The Sith in Acolyte can show the more distant predecessors of Palpatine, revealing the scope of the Sith political conspiracy to destroy the Republic in even greater detail. The Legends-era Darth Plagueis novel did precisely this, and there may be parallels between the two properties.
In Legends, Darth Bane created the Rule of Two to check the intrinsically backstabbing ways of the Sith and ensure that only the strongest dark side users became Sith Lords. This effectively abolished the use of Sith Acolytes – the Sith Order’s Force-sensitive trainees. In canon, the Rule of Two also served as an attempt to replicate a Dyad in the Force, and this rule seems to have existed sometime before the Sith Order’s supposed destruction. Moreover, while Legends explored the lives of Sith Lords who came after Bane but preceded Darth Plagueis, the canon timeline leaves much of this lineage shrouded in mystery.
The show’s title further implies that the journey to Sith Lordship will also be shown. In the Sith Order, a Sith Acolyte refers to both an aspiring Sith and an unofficial member of the order who is Sith in all but name. The protagonist of The Acolyte, be it a new version of Darth Tenebrous or an entirely new character, could be an unofficial Sith apprentice who ascends to Sith Lordship, highlighting the relative flexibility of the Rule of Two. Star Wars: The Acolyte appears to be a rare instance of a Star Wars story told from a dark side perspective, and it’d be fascinating to see it delve into the canon universe’s history of Darth Bane’s lineage.
The Acolyte Will Redefine The Sith
Apart from the fact that The Acolyte will feature the first Dark Side protagonist, it will also reveal much about how the Sith worked during the High Republic era. For the first time in Star Wars, The Acolyte will explore the Sith Order and the Dark Side without using the lens of the Jedi. The Acolyte will likely combine elements from Legends and the new direction of Disney’s Star Wars, with a similar tone to Count Dooku’s story arc in Tales of the Jedi. Apart from how The Acolyte could feature Sith Lords yet to appear onscreen, the new show’s title suggests that it will be a deep dive into life inside the Sith regime – not from the eyes of a Sith Lord, but a rank-and-file Sith Acolyte, who could become Star Wars‘ next big antihero.
