The Star Wars Legends character Darth Revan was a champion for both the Jedi and the Sith at different points in his life, and he is also a fan-favorite. Up to this point, even amidst continued calls for his canonization, he has officially remained a part of Legends. Disney has introduced an ancient Sith by the name of Revan, but so far, there is no indicator that the name in Disney’s canon has any connection to the character from the Knights of the Old Republic.
For some reason, Disney has been slow to reintroduce characters from the Old Republic era into canon. However, it is now apparent that the company has been dropping Easter eggs for dedicated Star Wars fans to find and trace. The trail of these subtle hints and references point to the possibility that Disney might soon canonize the REAL Darth Revan by connecting the name of Revan to his actual, acclaimed backstory.
Revan never really obeyed the Jedi Council, so when he went against their wishes and led a group of his followers in a war against the Mandalorians, no one was surprised. In that war, he acquired his trademark mask, defeated the leader of Mandalore in single combat and, in doing so, won the war. After that, he was captured and mentally dominated by a hidden and powerful Sith Emperor, Darth Vitiate, who wanted him to attack the Jedi. Revan broke from his bondage enough to stop serving his Sith master, but not enough to remember his former self. He became an immensely powerful Sith lord in his own right and waged war against the Jedi alongside his former friend, and now fellow Sith, Darth Malak. After being redeemed to the light, he helped the Jedi defeat Malak and began a new life.
He still did not remember his time with Vitiate, but that would soon end, and he tried to defeat the Emperor but was betrayed by a Sith accomplice. After spending centuries in captivity and waging a mental war with the Emperor, Revan escaped but was killed. His spirit, however, would not die and split into his separate dark and light side personalities which would wage war against each other. Eventually, they would be reunited and take part in the ultimate defeat against Darth Vitiate. After that, his spirit could finally rest in peace in the Force. Notably though, because of his time on both sides of the Force, he was considered a champion for the Jedi Order and personal role model for multiple future Sith lords.
The first clue that Disney dropped about bringing Revan into canon was back in 2017 in the form of a prop from the The Last Jedi. Luke Skywalker was famous for exploring the galaxy in search of artifacts that would help him rebuild the Jedi Order after the Rebellion’s victory over the Empire. One of the things that he found was a pendant of a broken, Sith lightsaber crystal that he kept with him in his hut on Ahch-To. The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary describes the pendant as belonging to a Jedi Crusader. Revan’s followers were called Revanchists or Jedi Crusaders, so this was likely the first hint that Disney intended to use the story of Darth Revan.
After the refences to the Jedi Crusaders, Disney next brought the name of Revan into modern canon. After Darth Sidious fell down the reactor shaft and transferred his spirit to the Sith world of Exegol, he immediately started planning his return to power. On that hidden and ancient world, the Sith Eternal cultists built Darth Sidious an army and a fleet of elite starships that he planned to use in his Final Order. Although it was not mentioned in the actual movie, The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary describes how that the “Sith troopers are organized into legions, using the ancient definition of 5,000 soldiers. These are numerically identified, but also given the name of an ancient Sith Lord.” The book mentions legions named after Revan, Andeddu, Tanis, Tenebrous, Phobos and Desolous. In doing this, Disney quietly added to the canon list of ancient Sith by name-dropping these Sith lords. At the moment, though, there are no stories to accompany the names.
Darth Vader #11, which releases on April 28th, may offer the perfect opportunity to return Revan’s story to canon. The series follows Vader after his son refused to join him on Cloud City as “the dark lord grapples with Luke’s unthinkable refusal and embarks on a bloody mission of rage-filled revenge against everything and everyone who had a hand in hiding and corrupting his only son,” according to the comic’s story synopsis. Thus far, Vader has encountered one of Padme’s former handmaidens, who was left for dead by Sidious on Mustafar, defeated Ochi of Bestoon without using the Force, escaped Sly Moore, and dominated the Endgame monster that lived in the Red Nebula above Exegol.
Now, Vader is about to enter the Sith Temple. Vader is on the Sith world to discover his master’s secrets, and he is likely to encounter the Sith Eternal cultists, as the cover for issue #11 seems to indicate. However, what he sees inside of the Temple may also serve as a history lesson for him and a nod to Star Wars fans.
There was almost another reference to Darth Revan in The Rise of Skywalker. The final version film was shorter than expected, and as a result, some things were cut between the planning phases and the final cut of the film. Concept art shows that there were originally plans to spend more time exploring the Sith Temple on Exegol. A description of the art says that “Carvings, glyphs, and tributes were added to its weathered walls that represented the culture of the Sith.” Among all of the designs, one relief-style mural stands out in particular. Among other Sith lords, there are unmistakable carvings of Darth Revan, Darth Malak, Darth Nihilus and Tulak Hord. Even though these designs were ultimately cut from the film, Disney clearly had plans to start flushing out some of the ancient Sith history and seems to be building to some kind of a big reveal.
With Darth Vader about to enter that same temple on Exegol, this is a perfect opportunity to reuse some of the scrapped concept art to officially link the name of Darth Revan with his character. Since these comics are canon, this would, by proxy, add Darth Revan, and his backstory, into Disney canon, along with the other Sith in the mural. While returning Revan to canon may seem like fan-service, it would be a good move for Disney because of the depth of his story. Bringing much of Old Republic back into canon would also immediately increase the history of Star Wars tenfold and expand the storytelling potential for the future of the saga as a whole. Hopefully, April 28th will finally see the REAL Darth Revan brought into canon.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #11 is on sale April 28th. It is written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Raffaele Ienco, and the Cover artist is Aaron Kuder.