Last year, one unlikely Star Wars show introduced a potential Sith retcon that could change our understanding of their history. The Sith have been a staple of Star Wars’ storytelling since 1977, with Darth Vader and his Master, Darth Sidious, having succeeded in the Sith’s millennia-long plan to conquer the galaxy.

Since the first Star Wars movie was released, Star Wars has gone to great lengths to expand the Sith’s background and the harrowing nature of the dark side. Even so, much of the Sith religion and legacy remains a mystery. Only seven Sith Lords have ever appeared on-screen, for instance, and much of what we know about the Sith comes from the now-defunct Star Wars Legends continuity.

While we’ve mostly canonically seen the Sith in action throughout the Skywalker saga, the Sith have been around as long as the Jedi have. We’ve witnessed remnants of their history throughout the franchise, including in shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and The Acolyte. More recently, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew suggested that the Sith had a historical partnership with a surprising Star Wars community.

Skeleton Crew Set Up A Major Sith Retcon

In Star Wars: Skeleton Crew episode 5, “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates,” Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) and At-Attin’s lost kids land on a planet called Lanupa. Though Lanupa was a gentrified spa resort when the Onyx Cinder arrived, it used to be a pirate stronghold known as Skull Ridge Mountain, and hints of the planet’s pirate legacy are still to be found around the resort.

It’s not just pirates that used to have a presence on Lanupa, though. In one Skeleton Crew scene, Jod stops in front of a wall that features an inscription in ur-Kittât, the Sith language. While unconfirmed, this could suggest that the Sith were once involved in piracy across the galaxy, long before Palpatine became Darth Sidious and implemented his nefarious grand plan.

Did The Sith Secretly Work Through Pirates For Generations?

While the Sith have always been the enemy of the Jedi and the Republic, Palpatine was the first Sith Lord to infiltrate the heart of the galaxy’s government, successfully tearing the Republic and the Jedi Order apart from the inside. So, how did the ancient Sith oppose the Jedi and the Republic on a larger scale?

Given the indication of the Sith’s presence on Lanupa in Skeleton Crew, it’s possible that earlier generations of Sith used the galaxy’s considerable pirate and criminal presence to their advantage. Pirates are well-known for causing havoc and having hidden, untapped resources. They could have been valuable, controllable allies for the Sith, with the bonus that the Jedi would think they were fighting pirates, rather than their dark side counterparts.

Interestingly, if true, this would mean that Darth Maul, Darth Sidious’ former Sith apprentice, (unknowingly) followed in the footsteps of the ancient Sith. After Maul’s “death” in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the Zabrak Force-wielder was resurrected in The Clone Wars.

In an attempt to best Palpatine, Maul created what became known as the Shadow Collective, an alliance between the spice-peddling Pykes, the syndicate Black Sun, and the Mandalorians’ treasonous Death Watch. Maul’s influence became substantial; Palpatine eventually viewed him as a genuine rival and attempted to kill him.

Were The High Republic’s Greatest Villains Encouraged By The Sith?

From Star Wars: The Acolyte, we know the Sith had a visible presence in the galaxy during the High Republic era. Set between 350 and 100 years before The Phantom Menace, the High Republic was a time of great prosperity for the Jedi and the Republic, though the cracks were starting to show.

This was largely thanks to the Nihil, a dangerous group of pirates and plunderers who, under the watchful eye of their leader, Marchion Ro, pillaged peaceful worlds, murdered countless Jedi and civilians, and even segregated a large swath of Republic-controlled space, claiming it as their own.

To combat the threat of the Nihil, the Jedi and the Republic worked closely together, with the Jedi acting as military leaders and protectors and the Republic providing additional foot soldiers and resources when necessary. This response is eerily similar to the way the Republic and the Jedi reacted when the Clone Wars broke out.

What if the Sith were working together with the Nihil? There’s a chance the Sith originally supported the Nihil, with Marchion Ro possibly going rogue to create his own “Empire,” of sorts, when he discovered the power of the Nameless, the terrifying Force-eating monsters he unleashed against the Jedi.

The High Republic publishing initiative is divided into three phases of storytelling. There’s a 150-year gap between Phase II and I. Anything could have happened during that time.

Darth Sidious’ master, Darth Plagueis, was operational during the High Republic era; there’s an all-too-brief glimpse of him near the end of Star Wars: The Acolyte. Perhaps the Nihil’s campaign, both with and without the Sith’s involvement, inspired Palpatine to force the Jedi and the Republic into another war a few centuries later, which was the first step in fracturing the Jedi’s faith and the Jedi Order.

The galaxy’s history has become an interconnected web, now more than ever before. Since the first High Republic novel, Charles Soule’s Light of the Jedi, was published in 2021, the pre-Skywalker era has undoubtedly influenced the franchise’s storytelling. Perhaps we’ll one day discover the truth about the Sith and the pirates’ potential alliance in Star Wars.

All Star Wars: The High Republic books are available for purchase now.