Star Wars is full of characters whose names can be said around the world and most people will turn their heads. Whether it’s the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker or perhaps one of the greatest villains ever created, the Sith Lord Darth Vader, the Star Wars franchise lives on through its heroes and villains. But not all of the best Star Wars characters come solely from the Skywalker Saga or even from series creator George Lucas; in fact, one the most beloved villains in many fans hearts borderlines on whether they're even technically canon in the new Disney era, Darth Revan from BioWare’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes place in the Old Republic era, spanning thousands of years during a time where the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire were both in power. With all three of the games set between over three thousand years before the Skywalker Saga, Disney is looking to explore the Old Republic in the next saga of Star Wars movies and a villain like Darth Revan is someone that desperately needs to be revisited and utilized to his full potential in the new saga.
Who is Darth Revan?
First introduced in BioWare’s 2004 game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Darth Revan is a Sith Lord that lived 4000 years prior to the events of the Skywalker Saga during a time where the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire were both at the heights of their power. Darth Revan first appeared one year after the Mandalorian Wars, declaring himself as the new Dark Lord of the Sith, accompanied by a large invasion fleet and a Sith Apprentice of his own known as Darth Malak.
Darth Revan and his army declared war on the Galactic Republic with the goal of uniting the galaxy under one ruler. Prior to returning to the known regions, Revan had learned of an ancient Sith Empire and an oncoming threat and forged a plan to unite the galaxy to combat the threat. However, during the war on the Galactic Republic, Darth Malak made a plan of his own to usurp his Sith Lord master and turned his own ship cannons on the bridge of Darth Revan’s star cruiser, seemingly killing him.
Backstory & Turn to the Dark Side
Revan’s time as a Sith Lord is far from what makes this character so intriguing. Before the Mandalorian Wars, Darth Revan and his Sith Apprentice Darth Malak were both renowned Jedi Knights. During the Mandalorian Wars, Revan served as the Supreme Commander of the Jedi and the Galactic Republic forces. Like Knights of the Old Republic II protagonist, the Jedi Exile, both Revan and Malak left the Jedi Order to fight in the war due to the council's inaction. When the war was over, the pair traveled to the unknown regions where they were eventually captured and turned to the Dark Side of the Force by the Emperor of the Sith.
Knights of the Old Republic
Believed to have been killed by Darth Malak, Revan turns out to be the key protagonist of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in a surprise twist of events. Revan suffered severe injuries from Darth Malak’s attack which lead to a complete loss of memory. He was then found by Jedi Knight Bastila Shan and taken to a Jedi Enclave where the Jedi Council brainwashed him with a false identity in hopes that he would return to the Light Side and to stop the threat that Revan had become after the Mandalorian Wars.
Throughout Knights of the Old Republic, Revan has no idea of his true identity and is retrained as a Jedi by Bastila Shan. Revan and his companions head from planet to planet on a mission to locate the Star Forge, a device capable of creating the most powerful army in the galaxy and destroy it in an effort to stop Darth Malak. In a confrontation with Malak late in the game, Revan learns his true identity and the player is given the option to follow the Light Side and save the galaxy or the Dark Side where Revan kills Malak and reclaims the Dark Lord of the Sith title.
Despite being customizable in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Revan is canonically a Human Male and follows the Light Side of the Force, stopping Darth Malak and the Sith at the end of the game and becoming a Jedi Master. After the events of KotOR, Revan marries the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, has a son named Vaner Shan, and bids farewell to his companions of the Ebon Hawk before traveling to the unknown regions of space in search of a way to stop the oncoming threat of the Ancient Sith Empire.
The Old Republic
Revan later appears in an expansion for Star Wars The Old Republic called Shadow of Revan, but this time around, Revan is playing the villain. Alongside a group of followers called Revanites, Revan has returned to destroy both the Republic and the Empire, similar to Kylo Ren’s goal in Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. Prior to the events of Shadow of Revan, Revan had been captured and imprisoned by the Emperor of the Sith (not Emperor Palpatine) and tortured for hundreds of years. In an attempt to fight back on his own terms, Revan creates his own droid army that targets Sith DNA in living creatures across the galaxy and is ultimately stopped by Imperials due to the potential threat to civilians.
In Shadow of Revan, the player and an alliance of Republic and Imperials manage to corner Revan to Yavin-4 where he is defeated. An apparition of Revan appears before the player and reveals that the Light Side of Revan was defeated at the Foundry and became one with the Force, while the Dark Side of Revan survived and set recent events into motion, fueled by hatred for the Emperor and thirst for revenge. The two sides of Revan warn the player that they’ll need to undo what he has done if they want to stop the Emperor for good.
Surprisingly, despite being the key protagonist in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, it wasn’t until the sequel Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, that Revan reached the height of his popularity when his story and motives were expanded on through dialogue with NPCs. Revan went from being an interesting character, albeit a copy and paste of Anakin Skywalker, to almost like a Grey Jedi that uses and learns from both sides of the Force and ultimately chose the Dark Side to sacrifice himself in a larger plan to save the galaxy.
Just as Revan has a conflicting Light Side and a Dark Side, his story in Knights of the Old Republic and The Old Republic game and tie-in novel isn’t aligned, disappointing many fans that felt like the character's journey had been rendered as pointless. It's unknown what Disney’s plans are for Project Luminous or accompanying games but this could be a great chance for the powers that be to reinvent the character for a new generation.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Xbox, Android, and iOS devices.