MOVIE NEWS – Star Wars has already had the opportunity to bring Darth Vader’s apprentice into the canon, and the upcoming Ahsoka series could finally do just that.

It almost happened once, and now there’s a new opportunity to bring Darth Vader’s secret apprentice back into the official Star Wars canon. The Force Unleashed video games’ main character, Vader’s apprentice Starkiller, is still a fan favourite. Even though he’s become part of the non-canon Legends since Disney’s 2012 purge. However, its characters have already returned to the canon before. The upcoming Ahsoka series could be the perfect vehicle for Starkiller’s return.

According to reports, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice was almost brought back into the canon through the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

However, plans were ultimately scuppered after it was decided that the character didn’t really fit into the early Rebel Alliance storyline. Back in 2017, Starkiller and Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer revealed that Lucasfilm creative director Dave Filoni toyed with the idea of bringing a version of Vader’s apprentice back into the official canon via Star Wars Rebels.

Rather than Starkiller’s story being the same as the one seen in the games, Starkiller’s origin was reworked instead to be one of Vader’s Jedi hunter inquisitors. Thus Starkiller would have presumably stayed on the path of the dark side instead of being redeemed in the game after Vader’s betrayal. However, the whole concept was ultimately scrapped by Filoni as it didn’t fit into the larger narrative of Rebels.

The Imperial Inquisitors remain mysterious figures

Despite the completion of Star Wars Rebels and several other projects involving the Inquisitors, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Respawn’s Jedi game, fans still don’t know much about the Jedi Hunters. For example, some of them have never been seen without helmets. The exact number of Inquisitors in Vader’s service is still unknown. As such, the Inquisitors are mysterious and nebulous enough that Starkiller may still turn up as one of them at some point in the future of Star Wars.

According to the established continuity of Star Wars, the Inquisitors were gone from the galaxy by the time of the original trilogy. Likewise, the new series will primarily take place during the time of the disintegrating Empire. However, there is a scene in the trailer where Ahsoka confronts a masked Inquisitor. The series may include flashbacks to moments from Ahsoka’s past. So perhaps Tano will be confronted by a re-canonised, live-action Starkiller, whose job is to bring her to Vader.

Why would Ahsoka be perfect for Starkiller’s return?

Truth be told, the concept of Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice going up against a canonical version of Darth Vader might be too exciting for Filoni and Lucasfilm to pass up. The Ahsoka series is an excellent opportunity for Starkiller to return. As was the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn to canon from Legends via the Star Wars Rebels animated series. In our case, Thrawn will also be making his live-action debut in the new series. (Lars Mikkelsen will reprise the role.)

The idea of Starkiller as a canonical Imperial Inquisitor may negate the possibility of the Jedi redemption seen in the original Legends games and his role in rallying the Rebel Alliance.

However, seeing any version of his character would still be very exciting. A brief appearance and/or name mentioned in the new series would be more than satisfying. Especially if it meant that Starkiller would get some canonical future in the Star Wars galaxy.

Source: Space.com