A couple of weeks ago, when a new promotional clip for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made its way online, you may have noticed a theory making the rounds that Emperor Palpatine’s new lair features a statue of Darth Nihilus, the malevolent “Lord of Hunger” who made his franchise debut in 2004’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
As it stands, we’re still waiting for official confirmation on that claim. However, the speculation suddenly seems a lot more credible thanks to the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, which suggests that several other Sith Lords from the KotOR game series are now part of the canon.
The new book includes a breakdown of the Emperor’s Sith troopers, who were apparently organized by legions of 5,000 troopers, each named after an ancient Sith. Perhaps the most significant name listed is the “3rd: Revan Legion” – presumably a reference to Darth Revan, a playable character in 2004’s Knights of the Old Republic. On top of that, there are legions named after Sith Lords Andeddu, Tanis, Tenebrous, Phobos and Desolous.
While the Sequel Trilogy finale is packed with all sorts of fan-pleasing references to Star Wars lore, the timing of these KotOR nods feels particularly significant, seeing how Lucasfilm is officially developing a film series based on the games.
Though Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker supposedly serves as the final installment in the Skywalker Saga, it seems the film and its accompanying book may have already laid some of the groundwork for the franchise’s next era. But seeing how the next movie isn’t scheduled to come out until 2022, fans will have plenty of time to speculate on the possibilities.