Star Wars recently released one of its best TV shows of all time, and while it was widely considered a great project at the surface level, what it could mean for the future of the franchise is even more notable and exciting, especially considering how Disney has handled the universe for more than a decade. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm from George Lucas in 2012, it can not be argued that the franchise as a whole has been noticeably different on multiple levels. Some fans have enjoyed the way Disney has presented Star Wars, and others haven’t, but something happened in a recent title that points to Disney giving the fans what they have wanted for years now.
Disney and Lucasfilm recently released a Star Wars Disney+ series titled Maul – Shadow Lord, and it quickly became one of the most popular and well-received projects of all time within the galaxy far, far away. The show was praised for many different reasons, but perhaps more importantly, it proved that Star Wars could be changed forever, particularly regarding the Sith.
Maul – Shadow Lord introduced fans to a brand new Star Wars character named Devon Izara. The show established that she was a Jedi Padawan who had survived Order 66 alongside her master, Eeko-Dio Daki, but that she was conflicted about the nature of the Jedi. Specifically, as the series progressed, her loyalty to the Jedi Order began to wane naturally, but even more so after Maul himself planted seeds of doubt in her mind.
Notably, it seems as though Disney and Lucasfilm were using Devon Izara to adapt a popular Legends character into canon, as some details about a certain character were strikingly similar to Devon’s. That Legends character is none other than Darth Talon, a Twi’lek Sith whom George Lucas was going to use in his own version of Star Wars’ sequel trilogy.
Essentially, with Devon being a Twi’lek, it was clear that Star Wars is trying to use Shadow Lord to tell Darth Talon’s origin story in canon. That character has never existed in canon before, but due to the similarities between the two, it is likely that Star Wars is changing that.
If that is the case, Darth Talon will become the first Sith or Dark Side Force user from Star Wars Legends to be put into an on-screen canon title under Disney. It is worth noting that Asajj Ventress technically made her first appearance in Legends, as she was introduced in 2003’s Clone Wars micro-series, but she was officially canonized by George Lucas and Dave Filoni in 2008’s The Clone Wars movie. At that time, the 2003 micro-series wasn’t necessarily considered fully Legends or part of the Expanded Universe, but it also wasn’t recognized as part of the main canon thread.
Since Ventress was brought over into The Clone Wars in 2008, which was part of the main canon story, Ventress would technically be the first Sith character to be brought from a non-canon title into canon, but that was before the Disney era. Devon is simply the first character of this kind to be adapted from Legends to canon under Disney.
It is also worth noting that Thrawn was another character who first appeared in Legends who was then brought into canon. Unlike Ventress, Thrawn’s crossover did happen under Disney’s ownership. However, Thrawn is not a Sith character or a Dark Side Force user, so he doesn’t apply to this specific narrative.
Under Disney’s rule, Star Wars has notably distanced itself from Legends content and has been a lot stricter on incorporating Legends elements into canon. However, now that Devon’s existence is essentially Star Wars’ way of adapting Darth Talon into canon, it could indicate that Disney could become more lenient on bringing Legends elements, stories, and characters into canon, which could change the entire trajectory of Star Wars forever.
Fan-Favorite Star Wars Characters Could Become Canon Now
Because Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1 was so successful, the show as a whole and Devon Izara, specifically, could eventually be recognized as pioneers if Disney and Lucasfilm canonize more characters and stories from Star Wars Legends.
There are hundreds of characters with extremely detailed and fleshed-out arcs who only exist in Star Wars Legends, and some of them are more beloved than many canon characters.
A good example is Darth Revan from the 2003 Knights of the Old Republic video game. Since that game was released, fans have begged Star Wars to bring Revan and his story into canon, and to adapt the entire Knights of the Old Republic story into a movie trilogy or a TV series. For a long time, it seemed as though that would absolutely never happen, especially after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and seemingly wanted nothing to do with the Expanded Universe (which that video game was a part of), but everything is different now.
Not only have Shadow Lord and Devon proved that Legends characters can work and be popular in canon, but Disney has become increasingly more open to including Legends characters in canon, even if they aren’t explicitly shown on-screen. For example, Revan is actually a part of Star Wars canon, even though he has never been featured on-screen. In The Rise of Skywalker, it was established that a legion of troopers in Palpatine’s Final Order was named the Revan Legion after the notable Sith Lord.
Revan has also shown up on-screen in Legends projects like the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy special on Disney+. Currently, it seems like it is more likely than ever that Revan will eventually be fully brought into canon and his story will be adapted on-screen in some way.
Revan isn’t the only character that fans want to see explored from Star Wars Legends. One popular character is Mara Jade from the Heir to the Empiretrilogy. Considering Thrawn is now canon, Lucasfilm is exploring the post-Return of the Jedi era, and the fact that parts of Heir to the Empire are being adapted in the MandoVerse, the likelihood that Mara Jade could show up in canon has never been higher.
Another name is Corran Horn, a Force-sensitive pilot who went on to become a Jedi. Essentially, Corran is like if Luke Skywalker was combined with Han Solo, which speaks for itself in how that would go over with fans. Notably, in Legends, Corran was part of Rogue Squadron. At one time, Disney and Lucasfilm were developing a film titled Rogue Squadron, but it was shelved. However, Lucasfilm is adamant that the title is still in the works, but whether it will be released or not is unknown.
If a Rogue Squadron movie were released, it is entirely possible that Corran Horn could be included as a character. Star Wars may not want to pull the trigger on introducing him as a Force-sensitive character, but at the same time, with Devon’s popularity and how well she was received as essentially a Darth Talon adaptation, it is also possible that Star Wars could include Corran’s Jedi aspects.
At the end of the day, it is always possible that Devon was an outlier when it comes to Legends characters getting their stories adapted into canon. However, her success (so far) proves that Legends characters and stories can work extremely well in canon, so fans may see more characters like Devon make their way over.
