Star Wars released a new trailer for The Acolyte over the weekend, in time for Star Wars Day. The preview is every inch epic with the number of action-packed scenes, but it still retains its mysterious theme. One of the most prominent scenes it features is the introduction of an enigmatic Sith Lord, whose identity is yet to be revealed. However, the franchise fans believe they know who this main villain could be and he’s probably Darth Tenebrous.
Star Wars fans have cast different assumptions about who the new Sith Lord in The Acolyte could be on social media and many claim that it could be Darth Tenebrous. X (formerly Twitter) user @Tielemoons believes that the new Disney+ series’ time period perfectly fits the introduction of the Sith Master into live-action.
To support the claim, X user @_Deathtrooper_ shares a screenshot of the ships seen in the trailer, strikingly resembling Darth Tenebrous’ aircraft from the novel Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, though its books and comics published before 2014 are no longer considered canon, it features a line of Sith masters and apprentices that can make their way to The Acolyte.
How can Darth Tenebrous be the Sith Lord in Star Wars: The Acolyte?
As @Tielemoons suggests, the setting of The Acolyte can be the perfect timeline for Darth Tenebrous to be the series’ villain. It takes place a hundred years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, in 132 BBY, and Darth Tenebrous is already around then. He, too, may be responsible for the main Sith line.
At the time, Darth Sidious wasn’t alive yet and Darth Plagueis didn’t become a Sith Lord until 67 BBY. It’s also good to note that Darth Tenebrous’ master, the Twi’letk Sith Lord, had already died 30 years before The Acolyte. Add that to showrunner Lesly Headland’s statement to Star Wars that there would be some “EU lore” and “big EU ideas” utilized in the show, it looks like there’s no other Sith Lord that can appear in the series but him.
“There's also some EU lore that I decided to put in because I thought it was so cool and no one told me I couldn't,” she said. “There are a couple of really big EU ideas that are utilized both early on in the series and later in the series.”
Anyhow, fans are advised to take these assumptions with a grain of salt, as nothing is confirmed yet. By the looks of it, the identity of this mysterious villain will only be confirmed when the series finally releases or more promotions are revealed.
Who is Darth Tenebrous in Star Wars?
Darth Tenebrous was the Sith Master of Darth Plagueis. He was suspected of designing Darth Maul’s personal starship called Scimitar, though it was known to be officially created by the starship designer Raith Sienar.
Like other ancient Sith Lords, he had his own Sith trooper legions called the Tenebrous legion led by Darth Plagueis’ apprentice, Darth Sidious, in 35 ABY. As Sith's history was kept secret from the rest of the galaxy, only Sith Eternal cultists knew his name’s significance.
The Acolyte’s special two-episode premiere is set to release on June 4, 2024, on Disney+. If the series will indeed introduce Darth Tenebrous into live-action, fans can expect epic storytelling that may make non-canonical stories canon.
