Palpatine’s dreaded flagship from Star Wars Legends is back in canon, although it’s likely nowhere near as dangerous. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker told a familiar story for fans of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now dubbed “Legends”). Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’s Dark Empire featured Palpatine’s resurection, via cloning and essence transfer no less, the same techniques he demonstrated in the sequels. In those comics, the Emperor used a terrifying flagship.

Palpatine’s Dark Empire was the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest Imperial military force of all, with troops, warships, superweapons, and battle droids deployed in what was known as Operation Shadow Hand. The flagship of Palpatine’s fleet was the Eclipse (and its sister ship, the Eclipse II); an Eclipse-class dreadnought, larger and far ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier than even the iconic Executor-class Super Star Destroyer. The Eclipse was equipped with gravity well projectors and an axial superlaser, making it a truly formidable vessel.

The Eclipse Is Back In Star Wars Canon

The Eclipse made its way into canon via the 2016 Star Wars Rebellion game, which featured an unidentified Executor-class Star Destroyer – named the Eclipse in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy. It’s now been mentioned again, in Star Wars: Battle of Jakku – Last Stand #4 by Alex Segura and Jethro Morales, and apparently is still active after the Empire’s fall – with Grand Admiral Rae Sloane traveling to the Unknown Regions to find the Eclipse and commandeer it.

What Happened To The Eclipse By The Mandalorian Era?

Until The Battle of Jakku, there had been claims the Eclipse had been destroyed before the end of the Galactic Civil War. The future of the Eclipse after it was presumably claimed by Rae Sloane is unknown, so it may still be active in The Mandalorian era. It could easily be claimed by Grand Admiral Thrawn, who returned to the main Star Wars galaxy at the end of Ahsoka. Alternatively, it is possible it was destroyed since; hyperdrives from Super Star Destroyers were absorbed into the Eye of Sion, the vessel that found him.

If the Eclipse does indeed appear in The Mandalorian era, Star Wars could perhaps switch things up by restoring the vessel to its Dark Empire scale. The Eclipse might be depicted as an Eclipse-class dreadnought if it appears in a film or TV series, giving the vessel its modern canon debut. Perhaps the modern canon’s Eclipse-class dreadnought is a precursor to the Xyston-class Star Destroyers seen in the Star Wars sequel era.