So I'm assuming that nearly all of us have seen the trailer to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and if you have not, then you need to go to youtube right now or sit this one out in the corner until you remedy that situation.

At any rate, there seem to have been several semi-prominent nerd podcasts (Mr. Sunday movies made reference to the theory, as did Comicbookcast) that have the same idea as me that the main antagonist for the next movie(s) will be the cult popular Star Wars EU character, (Darth) Revan. Now, most of us also know who Revan is: the hard core mamma jamma from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. From many fans, myself included, he is considered to be among the higher tiered force users of Star Wars:EU lore, ranking behind Luke, the Emperor, the Sith Emperor and arguably Starkiller.

But what really do we know about the man with a kick-ass saber, aside from the saber and the hood?

From this, we can tell that he is of average size, roughly, and wears a hood. Revan was of average size and wore a hood!

But aside from that obvious clue (sarcasm there), we really do not have a lot to go on aside from two things: Disney trying for brownie points of EU fans and the title of the movie.

Going over the former first, it's clear that Disney has been trying to play politics with the EU fandom, for better or worse, in trying to win them back. And to show for it, we have a cool cartoon and a book coming out with Asajj and Quinlan Voss. Surely opting for a fan favorite character as a major player would score them major points, as well as acting as an excellent counter to both the cautious light sided Luke, who is said to be in exile to avoid the temptation to use his power for evil, and the mwa haha stylings of Palpatine?

Veering towards the latter, we know the name: The Force Awakens. This can be seen as a possible clue to the origins of said bad guy, that being a much more ancient adversary, a FORCE, if you will, that can counter Luke on a physical and spiritual level. And very few dark side users in the history of Star Wars have the reputation that Revan has for stone cold badassery. Going for a direct quote from Canderous Ordo...

OH MY GAWD, REVAN IS THE SHIT, HOLY SHIIIIIT!!!

And then, there is the quote from Movieweb saying about the mask...

'The villain is said to be masked, so we don't learn her/his full identity just yet. The site describes the character as a cross between the red-colored Imperial Guards first introduced in 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, and Darth Reven from Knights of the Old Republic.

Perhaps it's changing the mask a bit? Make it less confusing for Mando armor? I don't know.

If it IS Revan, and I'm hoping it is, they would have to change his past a bit, maybe make him a wildcard that fought and lost against Darth Bane long ago? And maybe he was imprisoned and released by an Imperial Inquisitor?

I don't know, but it's worth discussing.

3848072 thats wierd i was making breakfast today and thought. "wait a second.... holy fuck the guy in the star wars trailer might be raven"

3848119 and it would be cool, but any further thoughts on that?

How they'd change his origin for the movie? Or the character?

3848072 I not sure about this. I think Maul would have been a safer choice of Villain to connect with the movies and Palatine's Legacy. As for Revan, since from an an RPG, he has no real canon personally. I don't no how what deflections he made were canon with in the universe, since he can pretty much be your hunky dory Luke Skywalker arch type or an extreme douchbag. I'd rather they have him be a legend amonst the fandom. Bring him into the movies thousands of years from his time is would be just like Ankins building of 3P-O witch many people thought was stupid. I didn't mind since 3P-0 is just a comic relief masscot and more of an observer than anything else. This is way too convent and would be another piss ass pandering attempted at pandering. I wouldn't mind a refence to him int the film, and in fact would love that beacouse that would drag him out of the Legend category and into full Star Wars cannon. Having hims "awake" is to much of a stretch, even for Star Wars.

This is all just my opinion.

3848147 I don't know. I mean, I'd be a huge fan of Darth Maul coming back into action and having him, at least to a point, redeem Episode I. I made a thread about it a while back, and if you pay close enough attention to the voice speaking and Maul's voice in the Clone Wars, there's enough of a similarity to jump from that being his voice in the cartoon, while this would be his voice in movie. He can also visibly fit into the needed threat factor needed to be filled in after the death of Palpatine and Vader.

The only problem with that is that he'd be old as balls by that point, and while an argument could be made that the force could sustain him, he'd be in his late 80's and early 90's, at least.

Let's take a look at how the new/old Sith walks out. skip to 50

While he is wearing the robes that are typical of Darth Maul, I think he's moving out a bit to past to be a about 100 years old.

As for the pandering thing, I don't know. I mean, wear exactly do you go after defeating the Emperor and Vader, after showing what both was once capable of? You can't really go for an inquisitor. They're cool and all, but they were only ever his agents. It wouldn't really escalate the sense of danger out there to just have the Emperor's lacky out there. I think it would be different if it were a non-force sensitive playing the part of the big bad, like Thrawn because we've never seen anything like that in a movie. There were hints in Grievous, but he really had no subtlety.

Now, as for Revan, while it would be pandering to the EU fanbase (I straight up said it would be playing politics in the OP), unleashing a very old power would have that sense of escalated danger needed for the next movie, one that Maul might be able to create, but an Inquisitor might not for the earlier stated reasons of lacking any of the force that Palpatine had.

I could be wrong. He might have earned his title as the new boss of the Empire for legit reasons, but I just don't think that having middle management take over is intimating.

As for Revan vs. Maul, either would be cool. I'd need to take a lil' more of a stretch for Maul, but as a guy that came back to lead after the death of his old master, it would be interesting. And for Revan, he's known for dancing the line of light and dark. Taking away the thought of pandering, he'd make an excellent foil to both Luke and the villains that came before.

3848246 I guess that would be true. He's tread both paths and is more of a middle man. I believe he may have even reached Niervana with the force. I guess it would create a threat, witch is what this movie needs. Maul or Revan could delevier that. I'm still going to be routing for mall being as he is the one thing about Phantom even the hatters like, and if done right could redeem that movie for those who were disappointing by it by giving it relevance.

Plagues could also be a good option (If it turns out he didn't actually die like Palpatine believed.) Maybe he did find away to cheat death? He's also an addition that even the Nastaiga Critic himself thought to be a great addition to the mythology.

It would be sweet if the "villain" is not a villain at all, that he just thinks that his way is good for the many.

My theory is that this "Sith" is actually a Je'daii, a member of the ancient Force Sensitive practitioners that the Jedi and Sith descend from 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, his reasoning for being the villain is to prevent the re-emergence of the Jedi Order in any way: correctly believing that the newly-formed "Zealots" (Jedi Order) was directly responsible for the creation of the "Cultists" (Sith Order), along with the destruction of dozens of worlds and countless species in what he had considered to be a Single war (the events of the Force Wars of Tython, the Jedi-Sith wars, the Cold War, the Clone Wars, and recently the Alliance to Restore the Republics battles against the Galactic Empire which had the conduct between Light-and-Dark Sides at the very core of it all), he seeks to destroy or convert any and all Force Sensitives to become Je'daii in order to maintain Balance in the Force, but finds himself in conflict against the Jedi.

3848382 Right, and for that first part, that's what Revan would totally be, which would be a nice departure from Palpatine's genericness.

As for the second, as of right now in the TOR game, Revan is gearing up for his galactic conquest of a galaxy that could very well be at war.

Personal head canon right now is that the Inquisitor led an expedition to wherever Revan was sealed away, for whatever reason.
3848303

3848246 Maybe the voice is an ancient Sith God but the Sith did not have any Gods I am thinks of a Dark Lord who could just flick his fingers and he could unleash a Thought Bomb anywhere but thinking about that that would be so cheap but I am thinking more on that level someone who is so strong in the force that it would make them a god

3848072 just found this on a website

hopefully its a real leak image thing

3848072 If it is Reven, he is more than three thousand years old and they need an explanation to why he is alive similar to what was given in the book Reven. Essentially, they need a means of putting him in statis for three thousand years, whether by the Force or tech, then releasing him. I don't like this because he did revert to being a Jedi after KOTOR, if I am not mistaken, as he is a Jedi not a Sith during the book so it does not make sense to make him a villain. The only option in this instance is a re-write of his character or put a greater threat in the galaxy that prompts Reven to take a stance where he is willing to take similar risks to what he made in KOTOR and thereby make him a threat. Regardless, I would rather it be a character based on Reven rather than Reven himself.

As for Maul, I don't see him as a galactic threat, no matter the time. He is a badass and shows great power but he is brought down during the Clone Wars, even kneeling after Sidious defeats him and kills Savage. Not to mention, as you say, he would be in his 80s-90s in age. Unless he is a complete cyborg at this point. That or he finally mastered the Dark Side and moves with thought alone which the guy in the trailer doesn't show. Powerhouse, yes. Galactic threat, no.

Personally, I would like to see the villain be Darth Kryat or any from the Lost Tribe of Sith. For those who don't know. The Lost Tribe is a group of Sith who crashed on an uncharted planet about 5000 years before A New Hope. They survived there and eventually became the new Sith threat in the Legacy era. Main villains for Jedi Academy game if I'm correct.

3849535 They could always toy around with his origin. Like making him more of a wild card, like he is now in TOR, as well as moving him up in the timeline. We know there were great wars with the Sith, so they can do something with that. Maybe he was sealed away or sealed himself away? And maybe Palpatine new of his existence in stasis but simply did nothing with it, seeing him as a viable threat to his power?

And bringing others into it wouldn't be a bad idea. As I stated earlier, what they need in regards to the villain is the ability to have him escalate the feeling of danger that Palpatine had.

That or he finally mastered the Dark Side and moves with thought alone which the guy in the trailer doesn't show. Powerhouse, yes. Galactic threat, no.

Keep in mind that Palpatine was pretty old, too. There's also the idea that the Empire would have needed a strong leader, since Palpatine encouraged infighting and competition. Maul was trained by Palpatine himself, so if he stepped in (he escaped and I think he survived the original trilogy), they might have eventually fallen in line with him.

3849545

They could always toy around with his origin.

That's the only way I can see him really being in this. With the EU no longer canon, they would have free reign to re-invent him a bit, just as long as it's believable and something the fans can agree with and work with.

Palpatine was old in Episode 6 but only presented himself as powerful in the force, not a strong saber fighter. The guy in the trailer does not demonstrate the age that a decrepit Maul would have if allowed to age with limited cybernetics. Maul was trained by Sidious, but was always viewed as a means to an end never as a true apprentice to take on the mantle of Master. Maul's fate is still foggy but I still don't see him as a wide spread threat. A dark Jedi, Sith, agent of the dark side, whatever but not a galactic villain. I could see him as a Sith, running a criminal underworld, seeking that means to conquer the galaxy but not one that throws the Force for a loop. There is a comic about him that mentions a underworld organization he forms with the Mandalorians loyal to him from Death Watch, but I don't know exactly when it takes place. Haven't read it. Bad guy still around and causing problems, why not? Go for it. But I don't think he would be the main villain.

3849570 from what I was told, JJ is a big Star Wars fan so it might've been Disney that said the EU was no longer canon and he has to go along with it.

3848072 EU was made non-canon. That means there's pretty much no chance.

3849728 If i remember right, JJ was in on it saying "It gives more creative freedom".

3848072 am i doin it rite

3849869 they also said aspects of it could find their way into the new canon.

Here's hoping Thrawn shows up in Star Wars rebels.

3849990 Put more feeling into it.

3849570

There is a comic about him that mentions a underworld organization he forms with the Mandalorians loyal to him from Death Watch, but I don't know exactly when it takes place. Haven't read it. Bad guy still around and causing problems, why not? Go for it. But I don't think he would be the main villain.

I have. It takes place before Episode III and is the only Dark Horse comic that's canon. By the end up it, his power base is broken, so Palpatine decides not to pursue, him no longer being a threat to his power, which is why I think he's still alive. Palpatine wouldn't have any pawns capable of beating Maul in a fight and in a confrontation, Vader could very conceivably lose.

He'd be annoying, but but ultimately he'd cause more trouble than he'd have been worth in the grand scheme of things and that's why I think Maul survived past the original trilogy.

3848072
Honestly, Revan can use a break. I feel like if Disney put him in Episode VII it would be over saturation. We had him in Kotor 1, mentioned in Kotor 2, the book Revan, TOR, and now SOR. Don't get me wrong, I love Revan, but I've heard his story already.

3850947 I can get behind that logic. From that perspective, it seems like Revan is being regarded as the Batman of Star Wars, in both ability level and on a meta level.

Can it be Jacen Solo, just please? Or the rest of the new trilogy leading up to it? I can't get behind Revan anymore, too much Revan. Maybe it can be some lost tribe of the Sith like they had in the most recent book arc. I don't know, just don't screw it up JJ, the trailer already has me hyped

3848072 Maybe it's not the actual Darth Revan, but the villain has read and heard about him and is trying to emulate him, hence the similar mask and Sith lightsaber.