It’s time for Star Wars to make a Darth Plagueis movie
One of the best works in the Expanded Universe, Darth Plagueis brings a dark, Sith edge to Star Wars. A film based on James Luceno’s novel could only be a good thing.
It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you.
I was mystified by Darth Plagueis right from the start. Just listening to Palpatine talk about him with Anakin was enough to make me think “alright, I need to know more about this guy.”
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Sure enough, in 2012, James Luceno (author of Catalyst and Tarkin) gifted us with Darth Plagueis, an EU novel that helped put a face to the story. We learned that he adhered to the Rule of Two like any other Sith after Darth Bane. We read how he took a young Sheev Palpatine under his wing, but also how the apprentice schemed against his master for years.
In an era where Star Wars films, in my opinion, are pretty lighthearted (save for Rogue One), a movie based on Luceno’s captivating novel would give the franchise a much darker entry, something that could help bring fans back together.
Everything a director would need for this is right in the book — there’s really nothing major that needs to be changed up. You get the Sith mentality throughout; brutality, that lust for power, the big con game that they play. It’s all there.
Here are some quality reasons for a Darth Plagueis film adaptation.
Sith spotlight
Fans have been asking for a Knights of the Old Republic series for some time now, and honestly, who can blame them? I’m really pulling for Benioff and Weiss to bail us out here and make a KOTOR trilogy, but we’ll see.
Let’s say that Benioff and Weiss don’t go with KOTOR and flow a different way. A Darth Plagueis movie could help fill that Dark Side void. You get the Sith feeling right away in the book, with Plagueis and his master, Darth Tenebrous.
Just take this quote from when Plagueis killed his master:
"“Tenebrous was paralyzed and unconscious but not yet dead. Plagueis had no interest in saving him–even if it were possible–but he was interested in observing the behavior of the Bith’s midi-chlorians as life ebbed. “"
There you have it. His longtime master dying right before him (albeit at his hand), and Plagueis is thinking about midi-chlorians. Classic.
An excuse for McDiarmid and Park to return
Ian McDiarmid’s performance as Palpatine in the prequel trilogy is one of my favorite aspects of the whole franchise. In a Plagueis movie, it would only make sense to bring the man back to the villainous role.
Yeah, you might need a younger actor to play his younger version (like when Plagueis meets him at the Academy on Naboo), but there’s always CGI. As for Ray Park, we know he’d be down to return as Maul since he came back for Solo. Park’s character would get his origins explored a little more, and the scene where Palpatine is given the infant Maul would be awesome.
Fans would love to see these two back in action, especially McDiarmid. I’ve been clamoring for him to get back to the role of Sidious somehow, so a Plagueis film would be the perfect fit.
Another Vader Rogue One type of rampage
If you’ve read Darth Plagueis, you know which scene I’m talking about here. If you haven’t, this exchange between Palpatine and his father, Cosinga, should fill you in pretty nicely.
"“I was born mature, Father, fully grown, and you hated me for it, because you grasped that I was everything that you can never be.”“Hated you more than you know,” Cosinga said, allowing his ire to rise once more. “Enough to want to kill you from the start.”Palpatine stood his ground. “Then you had better do it now.”Cosinga took a step in Palpatine’s direction, only to be hurled back against the bulkhead separating the communications room from the main cabin. A female voice from behind the closed hatch asked in distress, “What was that?”Nursing an injured shoulder, Cosinga looked suddenly like a trapped animal, his eyes wide with surprise and fear. He made a move to strike the handplate that opened the hatch, but Palpatine thwarted his effort without raising a single finger. Twisting violently around, Cosinga fell over one of the acceleration chairs, bloodying his face as it struck the armrest."
If that doesn’t peak your interest, I don’t know what will.
Really, a Darth Plagueis movie would give the Star Wars franchise something new, something dark, and something that fans can look forward to. Obviously it would make a ton of cash, but it would also make optimism about the franchise’s future skyrocket.
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