Two Years Later, Star Wars Reveals Secrets of the Most Exciting Sith Reveal Since Lucas

by

A major draw of the show Star Wars: The Acolyte was its setting in the High Republic era, a time long before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Being set roughly 100 years before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace meant the show wouldn’t rely heavily on familiar characters. However, the showrunner, Leslye Headland, still managed to tie the series into the larger Star Wars storyline. In the finale of what turned out to be a one-season show, viewers saw live-action Darth Plagueis for the first time. Recently, some details about this Sith character’s appearance have come to light.

The recently released book, The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte, delves into the character of Plagueis, as expected. Creator Lesly Headland discussed her vision for the character, explaining she aimed for a similar effect as Gollum in The Fellowship of the Ring. She wanted to hint at Plagueis’ presence through subtle details like his eyes and coloring, but keep him largely in shadow. Headland hoped that by showing his movements from the perspective of the main characters, the audience would feel aware of the danger before the characters themselves did.

Why Darth Plagueis Only Had a Cameo in The Acolyte

The book also explains why the character Plagueis wasn’t introduced until the end of the season. According to the showrunner, she always intended for him to appear in the finale, believing an earlier introduction would have been overwhelming. The plan was to first establish the world, characters, and story, and then reveal Plagueis as the bigger danger. Actor Manny Jacinto mentioned in late 2024 that if the show continued, they planned to further develop Plagueis’s role, and based on the showrunner’s statements, he likely would have become the primary villain.

Even though the story left some questions unanswered, delaying the reveal of Plagueis until the finale was a good decision. The show’s creator is right – building the characters and story first was more important than immediately introducing a major connection to the Sith. Unlike most other Star Wars films and series, which take place within a relatively short timeframe centered around the Skywalker family, The Acolyte explores a much earlier period in galactic history. This meant the show needed to gently introduce viewers to a world that felt both familiar and new. Since the show featured an entirely new set of characters, it was crucial to get audiences connected to them before diving into bigger mysteries.

The creators of The Acolyte intentionally kept the show separate from the main Star Wars saga at first. They felt introducing a character like Plagueis too early in the season would have overshadowed the central mystery. By saving his appearance for the finale, they could focus on building the compelling Jedi murder-mystery and give it the attention it deserved. There was a lot of story to tell in The Acolyte, and with plans for future seasons, there wasn’t any rush to reveal the connection to Plagueis.

Now that The Acolyte has been cancelled, some fans are speculating whether introducing the character of Plagueis earlier would have improved the show’s chances. Presenting a clear villain from the start might have created more excitement and balanced out the mixed reactions it received. It’s interesting to consider how different the show could have been with Plagueis appearing early on, but it’s difficult to criticize the showrunner’s initial choice. At the time, it seemed like a good plan, and it’s just a shame things didn’t ultimately pan out.

The Acolyte‘s Plagueis Design Drew From Star Wars History

Bringing the important character of Plagueis to life on screen for the first time could have been challenging, but the team behind The Acolyte handled it well. They had a good starting point, as the Muun species, to which Plagueis belongs, had already appeared in other Star Wars content. VFX supervisor Julian Foddy explained they used existing depictions of Muuns from the prequels and The Clone Wars as references. The goal wasn’t necessarily to create a dramatically new design for Plagueis, but to create shots where he blends into the background—a casual viewer might not even realize they’re seeing him.

Industrial Light & Magic perfectly captured the vision for the character on their very first attempt. VFX producer Carlos Ciudad shared that the initial design of Plagueis moved creator Lesly Headland to tears, with her saying it was exactly what she’d imagined. While The Acolyte has sparked debate among viewers, many likely felt the same way as Headland when they saw Plagueis come to life. Fans have been eager to learn more about Plagueis ever since Palpatine mentioned him to Anakin, and seeing the character finally appear in live-action after years of anticipation was thrilling, hinting at exciting things to come.

The comparison between Plagueis in The Acolyte and Gollum in The Fellowship of the Ring is spot on. In Fellowship, audiences only get a brief, shadowy glimpse of Gollum as he stalks the Fellowship – a way to introduce him before his bigger role later on. Plagueis’ appearance in The Acolyte did the same thing. Like that initial Gollum sighting, it wasn’t a full reveal, just a tease of what’s to come. It would have been fascinating to see how the creators might have developed Plagueis further if the show had continued, perhaps refining details to make him a more compelling character, while still keeping the core concept intact.

It was disappointing that the big reveal of the character felt flat because The Acolyte was canceled. It’s unlikely the show will be brought back, meaning we may never see this character, Plagueis, appear in live-action Star Wars again. While Lucasfilm is working on many new Star Wars projects, none of them seem like a natural fit for Plagueis, who likely died before the events of the prequel films (though official sources haven’t specified exactly when). It would be a shame if this potentially compelling character never returned, but it’s unclear if Lucasfilm will revisit that era of the Star Wars timeline.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/list/10-coolest-star-wars-lightsabers-not-seen-in-the-movies/embed/#

Read More

2026-02-08 22:43