Star Wars teases us with legendary Sith lord reveal after 19 years

If you’re yet to dive into Star Wars: The Acolyte, I have just one piece of advice for you. Go and do it.

The first three episodes are now available, with episode four landing later today in the US or in the early hours of tomorrow morning if you’re in the UK.

This is easily the most exciting Star Wars series in quite some time.

Following in the footsteps of Andor, The Acolyte doesn’t rely on cameos or nostalgia indulgence.

It has an engaging and original story to tell, although one that feels far more quintessentially Star Wars than Andor did.

In our review, I wrote, ““From epic lightsaber duels to adorable droids and everything in between, these are the jigsaw pieces that make Star Wars what it is, and yet [showrunner] Headland places those pieces together in a way that feels both familiar and new. Offering excellently paced episodes and a thrilling story packed with twists, turns, and revelations, The Acolyte doesn’t disappoint.”

The show’s first episode introduces us, albeit briefly, to the series' big bad.

Whilst this Sith Lord doesn’t yet have a name, we’re sure to find out more about them in the coming weeks.

Naturally, in the meantime, fans have an interesting theory about who might be hiding under the helmet.

We sat down with The Acolyte’s Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, and Rebecca Henderson. Take a look below.

I want to preface this by saying that this Sith Lord could be a completely new character, but fans are explaining why they think it might be either Darth Plagueis or Darth Tenebrous.

Darth Plagueis is perhaps the most well known of the two as he’s mentioned by Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith.

Plagueis could supposedly cheat death as his command over the dark side of the force was so powerful.

According to the franchise’s lore, he was eventually killed by his apprentice.

Originally, it was implied that Palpatine was his apprentice but following Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars, Plagueis became a much more mysterious figure with execs likely thinking that this is a story they could tell further down the line.

Regardless, Plagueis' ability to cheat death must’ve inspired Palpatine’s resurrection in The Rise of Skywalker.

As for Darth Tenebrous, we know far less. He’s a Bith that appears most prominently in the Star Wars Legends canon which, if you don’t know, exists separately to the main canon.

We have seen characters brought into the mainstream before though, like Thrawn and Revan.

I’m afraid very little is known beyond this so the character is a prime candidate for further exploration.

Both are viable contenders, or could someone more familiar be hiding a dark secret? Yord? Qimir?

Time will tell.