A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a young slave boy was prophesied to bring balance to the Force and grew up to become one of the most powerful Sith lords ever to wield a plasma blade. After the destruction of the Death Star at the end of 1977’s Star Wars, retroactively subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope, Anakin Skywalker, by then known as Darth Vader, was demoted and set out on a personal mission to find the fighter pilot who destroyed the Empire’s deadliest superweapon with a single improbable shot. In pursuit of that goal, he traveled to the Kallidahin asteroid Quarantine World III, and it’s there that he crosses paths with a rogue archeologist by the name of Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra.
Now, WGTC is hearing from our sources – the same ones who told to us that [SPOILERS] would be revealed as a traitor and who informed us about that Emperor Palpatine and Rey twist in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker months before it released – that the Thrinittikian adventurer, who first appeared in the third issue of Kieron Gillen’s initial run of Darth Vader comic books published by Marvel in March of 2015, will be making her live-action debut in the upcoming second season of The Mandalorian.
Moreover, we’re being told that the casting department at Lucasfilm has an eye on Chicago native Chloe Bennett to fill the role, though she’s not the only one being considered. Details on how exactly Aphra would factor into the show remain scarce, but we understand that the character will provide assistance to Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and The Child, which he now protects, while rumor has it that her introduction is further meant to set the stage for a Doctor Aphra spinoff set in the post-Empire/pre-First Order period following Return of the Jedi.
The character appeared across nearly two dozen issues of Darth Vader after being recruited by the Sith lord, and ultimately faked her death after falling-out of Vader’s favor before going on to star in her own 40-issue solo series beginning in December of 2016. A second volume of that series will pick up after the Battle of Hoth as seen in The Empire Strikes Back with a Tomb Raider-esque adventure story in which Aphra will assemble a new crew of treasure-hunters to pursue a legendary set of artefacts known as the Rings of Vaale on behalf of a fellow archaeologist, before discovering that a ruthless nobleman is already seeking the same relics.
The Mandalorian‘s first season of eight chapters is available to stream now on Disney+, while the second season is set to premiere this October. And as soon as we learn more about Aphra’s role in it, we’ll be sure to let you know.
