One of the many complaints associated with Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy - and that of 2019's The Rise of Skywalker - was the disconnect to the prequel films and other Star Wars stories that came before.
While many fans rankled at Palpatine's shoe-horned role and Rey's Palpatine heritage in the final film, some felt the threequel's plot - and the saga as a whole - would've been better served by the inclusion of Darth Plagueis.
Darth Plagueis the Wise was first mentioned by Palpatine to Anakin in Revenge of the Sith and was supposedly able to keep people from dying. However, Plagueis was killed by his own apprentice who was, in fact, Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious). Surprisingly, this chilling tale from the galaxy's political puppetmaster was never revisited.
Now, nearly two years after The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm is finally diving into the identity of the legendary Darth Plagueis in a new book titled Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith.
Darth Plagueis Image Made Star Wars Canon
The sequel to Star Wars: Secrets of The Jedi, Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith (and surprisingly, a children's book?) revealed the first in-canon look at Darth Plagueis, as pointed out by Twitter user @JacobsQuest.
In addition to artwork, inserts, and pop-ups, Secrets of the Sith is narrated by Palpatine himself, who naturally knew this mysterious master best.
On a page where Palpatine details The Rise of Skywalker's introduced element of a Force "dyad", the artwork shows a three-generation line of Sith Lords with Plagueis at the top, followed by Palpatine, Darth Vader, and then Rey and Kylo Ren as a dyad at the bottom.
However, while all of the other character's faces are clear and distinct, Plagueis' image only shows a hooded silhouette and glowing eyes.
Will Star Wars Fans Finally See Darth Plagueis?
Star Wars books are nothing new as the franchise has been churning out novels, comics, coffee table books, and guides for decades. The problem is that - much like Obi-Wan's philosophy - Lucasfilm's view of canon often depends on their certain point of view.
To further complicate things, Lucasfilm also has a tendency to rely on books and supplemental material to fill in the gaps created by their films, further adding to fan confusion and even frustration due to a film's required reading.
This is why it's hard to know if Plagueis' inclusion in the canon Secrets of the Sith book is worth taking seriously, not to mention the fact that Palpatine is the narrator and probably an unreliable source.
On the other hand, not showing Plagueis' appearance in Secrets of the Sith could mean something. In the 2012 Star Wars Legends novel titled Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord was a Muun. Perhaps the fact that his appearance has yet to be confirmed in canon means Lucasfilm has a different vision.
It's also worth noting that Plagueis and Palpatine's interest in cloning, midi-chlorians, and long life have been revisited in both The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Bad Batch on Disney+.
While a children's book is definitely an odd choice to reveal the mysterious Sith, maybe it's laying the groundwork for Lucasfilm to finally utilize the legendary lord in its new storytelling ventures on Disney+.
