- "Revan. Revan, Revan, Revan."
- ―Cultists of the Sith Eternal speak Revan's name
Revan was a Sith Lord and the namesake of the Sith Eternal army's 3rd Legion. Since the history of the Sith was kept hidden from the galaxy, only Sith cultists knew the significance of Revan's name.[1] In 3 ABY,[3] cultists searching the catacombs beneath the Sith Citadel on the planet Exegol repeated Revan's name in something similar to a chant, along with the names of other Sith.[2]
Sith trooper legions were each numerically identified and additionally named after an ancient Sith Lord. The Revan Legion was activated[1] in 35 ABY[4] along with the rest of the Sith Eternal's forces during the war between the First Order and the Resistance.[1]
Behind the scenes
Conception and development
An ancient Sith Lord named Revan was reestablished in the current Star Wars canon with a mention in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary, a 2019 reference book written by Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo.[1] The visual dictionary accompanied the film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, which were both released on December 20th.[5][6]
Revan was originally introduced in the Star Wars Legends continuity in BioWare and LucasArts's 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.[7] In Legends, Revan was a Jedi Knight who broke away from the Jedi Order, became a Dark Lord of the Sith, and formed a Sith Empire that waged war against the Order and the Galactic Republic. While experiencing amnesia, the former Sith was retrained as a Jedi to confront the Sith Empire, Revan's own creation. As the playable character of the game, Revan's physical characteristics and gender were customizable by the player for gameplay purposes;[7] the 2005 reference book The New Essential Chronology then established Revan's gender as male and canonized the light-side ending. Following the events of the game, Revan eventually confronted the true Sith[8] and helped destroy its leader.[9]
Deleted scene
Development
- "One of the very interesting things about the final episode of Mortis, that I know fans would have found very interesting, was that George was looking for two ancient Sith Lords that could bring some meaning that would be kind of like an uber evil influence guiding the Son… and this was Darth Bane and Darth Revan, both of who existed in the EU."
- ―Dave Filoni, on the cut scene
In 2011, Revan was slated to appear in "Ghosts of Mortis," an episode of the third season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. Revan would have appeared as a Sith Lord alongside Darth Bane as advisors to the powerful Force wielder known as the Son, but they were ultimately cut from the episode in late production.[10]
The show's director, Dave Filoni, was apprehensive of using the scene, and it was removed at George Lucas' request because Lucas thought Sith Lords existing beyond death or outside of the Force contradicted the established light side aspects and meaning of it, though the idea was acknowledged and it went far into development. Filoni also thought it was cool for Revan to potentially appear in the TV series, along with Bane in some capacity. The scene made it to the animatics stage and can be viewed in the bonus content on the Blu-ray edition of Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three. In this cut scene, Revan was modeled after his Legends appearance.[10]
The scene
- "We are those who have come before. Those who were betrayed. Those who hate. We are the wielders of the dark side."
"What do you want from me?"
"We stand before you, disciples of the dark side, intent on its supremacy. It has been foreseen that one lives who will control the universe." - ―Darth Bane, the Son, and Darth Revan
The cut scene of Revan is set in the Well of the Dark Side on the planet Mortis, where the Son confronts dark-side spirits about the recent death of his sister, the Daughter, at his hands. The spirit voices tell the Son to embrace his pain and resentment, and when he questions their identities, giant apparitions of Darth Bane and Darth Revan appear to the Son, proclaiming their intent to ensure the dark side's supremacy. Speaking of another's existence who will control the galaxy, Revan and Bane warn the Son that control over Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, is the key to the Son's success.[10]
Appearances
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Ghosts of Mortis" (In deleted scene(s))
- Shadow of the Sith (and audiobook) (Mentioned only) (In flashback(s))
Sources
- "Ghosts of Mortis" Episode Featurette on StarWars.com (backup link) (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- "The Final Order and the Battle of Exegol" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shadow of the Sith
- ↑ The flashback in which Revan is mentioned in Shadow of the Sith takes place concurrently with Darth Vader (2020) 11, which Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of to 3 ABY.
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker to 35 ABY.
- ↑ Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker The Visual Dictionary on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars (@starwars) on Twitter: "Star Wars: Episode IX is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019." (screenshot)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ Star Wars: The Old Republic — Mission: "Echoes of Oblivion" on Odessen
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three