Star Wars’ Terrifying Tales: The worst part of the Legacy Run disaster

This Halloween on Dork Side of the Force, we’re taking a look back at some of Star Wars’ scariest moments, be it the movies, books, TV shows, and everything in between. May the Terrifying Tales be with you!

When you think of Star Wars, “horror” doesn’t usually come to mind instantly. It’s a fantasy story about hope, sacrifice, and identity. But that doesn’t mean a galaxy far, far away doesn’t have terrifying moments.

This Halloween, we’re exploring some of the scariest tales in Star Wars history. This one, set in an era still unfamiliar to many fans, will haunt you long after you witness it.

Star Wars: Light of the Jedi launched an entire new era of Star Wars storytelling both literally and figuratively when it landed on store shelves this past January. The High Republic, set several hundred years before the events of The Phantom Menace, features the Republic and the Jedi as we’ve never seen them before — united. In it for the well-being of all the living. Powerful, but wholly a force of good.

We all know how the story ends, though. Something will lead to the downfall of the philosophies that made the Jedi the legacies they were then. And it all begins with The Great Disaster — the mysterious destruction of a starcruiser that comes apart while flying through hyperspace.

The tragedy of the Legacy Run

As you can imagine, this means very bad news for the systems that end up in the paths of the Legacy Run’s remains. The Jedi are immediately called to assist, and each chapter leading up to “impact” begins with an update on how many minutes left until the worst occurs. The tension is almost unbearable. The suspense makes it impossible not to keep turning pages.

But that’s not even the most terrifying part of it.

Nope. That would be the moment one of the Jedi Padawans on the mission realizes that the fragments of the Legacy Run the group were planning to destroy still had living beings inside them.

In that moment, the whole endeavor instantly morphed into a nearly hopeless rescue mission. Instead of eliminating the pieces of the ship that could kill billions of innocent lives, the Jedi also had to figure out how to save the lives of those still on board the fragments.

Impossible? Almost. If the Jedi in their prime weren’t present, it surely would have been.

We won’t spoil the rest of the story for you if you haven’t picked up the book yet. Beginning the entire High Republic era with such a devastating, terrifying event, however, couldn’t have worked out better. The Great Disaster, as scary as it was, set the rest of the era’s events in motion with a brilliance Charles Soule’s storytelling is fast becoming known for.

The era, made up of many books, comics, and audio-exclusive adventures, tells the story of the Jedi’s worst fears. It’s only gotten darker since the beginning and will continue to grow more terrifying with every new story these authors create.

Do you dare continue on, knowing no one — not even your favorite characters — is safe?

What are your favorite terrifying tales from Star Wars? Let us know in the comments. And for more, follow the editorial category on Dork Side of the Force.