20 years after the release of Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars franchise is finally ready to show how Palpatine fulfilled his original dark side “promise” to Anakin Skywalker. Thanks to Star Wars Celebration, it’s been confirmed that the end of 2025 will see the release of a brand-new novel starring Darth Vader. Set in the aftermath of the third and final prequel movie, this new book will see the Dark Lord of the Sith attempting to unlock a power that was central to his corruption to the dark side by Darth Sidious.

Enтιтled Star Wars: Master of Evil, this new Darth Vader will be written by Adam Christopher, who also wrote 2022’s Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith. Although the book isn’t set for release for another few months, the synopsis reveals some exciting details about this new Darth Vader book. As such, it looks like Emperor Palpatine’s “promises” to Vader from Revenge of the Sith will finally be fulfilled with the Dark Lord embarking on a dark new quest.

In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine Promised Anakin Power Over Death

“Together We Can Discover The Secret”

In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine gradually laid the groundwork to turn Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. This largely began with Palpatine promising the power to overcome death via the story of his own master, Darth Plagueis the Wise, a Sith lord who could influence the creation of life and the prevention of death. As such, the corrupted Jedi Knight pledged himself to Darth Sidious after Mace Windu’s murder, provided that Palpatine could help him save Padmé’s life.

Palpatine told his new apprentice that “to cheat death is an ability only one has achieved (Plagueis)”, but that together they could work to “unlock the secret”. Tragically, Anakin’s fall to the dark side as the newly christened Darth Vader resulted in the killing of his wife, his resulting grief and pain becoming a key source of his power in the dark side. However, it looks as though this upcoming Star Wars novel will see Vader attempting to learn how to overcome death, just as his master had promised in Episode III.

Master of Evil Will See Palpatine Making Good On Those “Promises”

To An Extent

As teased by the synopsis released by Lucasfilm Publishing, Darth Vader will begin a quest in search of this power shortly after bleeding his Sith kyber crystal, not long after the events of Revenge of the Sith. After Darth Vader receives a vision and sees the limitless possibilities of the Force, the synopsis teases that Emperor Palpatine will be “suspiciously” supportive of his apprentice’s goals under the pretense of making good on his original Revenge of the Sith promises:

Vader is determined to follow this vision, even if it means defying his master’s orders. Yet he finds the Emperor suspiciously supportive of his mission, even sending Vader to the Diso system to investigate rumors of a Force-wielding shaman able to raise the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. At his side are a cadre of the Emperor’s scarlet-robed Royal Guard, led by Colonel Halland Goth—a decorated soldier with a very personal interest in Vader’s mission.

Even as the Emperor’s true motivations reveal themselves, Vader falls deeper into obsession. His journey takes him far across the galaxy, chasing rumors and phantoms. But no matter how far he travels, he cannot escape the shadows within his own soul. Haunted by the echoes of his past, Vader circles the true resolution to his quest: only once all weakness is purged can he become a master of evil.

Palpatine’s interest must lie in his own self-interest and secret plans to attain immortality via Project Necromancer. With the synopsis citing that Darth Vader is haunted by the promises of the dark side that his master had only ever hinted at, it seems as though Vader’s determination will be coming from his desire to know if he could have saved Padmé from death, or perhaps even bring her back from the netherworld itself. After all, attempting to resurrect his late wife is nothing new for Darth Vader.

Darth Vader Has Tried To Bring Back The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Before

Tried (And Failed)

In the established Star Wars canon, Darth Vader has tried to bring Padmé back to life twice (that we know of). While 2017’s Darth Vader series opened with the Dark Lord corrupting and bleeding his kyber crystal, it ended with Darth Vader building his fortress on Mustafar, constructing it as a mᴀssive conduit to channel and amplify his power in the dark side. Once it was complete, Vader seemingly opened a conduit into the cosmic Force. While he did find his wife, Padmé rejected him, no longer seeing the man she loved with the heartbreaking claim that “Anakin Skywalker is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.”, a dark truth Vader very much internalized going forward.

Likewise, the second attempt made was shown in the canonical Vader Immortal VR game series, which saw the Dark Lord using the energies of Mustafar and an ancient relic known as the Aeon Engine to bring back his wife, only to be foiled when the Engine was destroyed.

Keeping both events in mind, it will be fascinating to learn if either or perhaps even both attempts were influenced by what Darth Vader will learn in Master of Evil, and/or if the Dark Lord’s discoveries will instead be of use only to Palpatine.

Star Wars: Master of Evil is set to be published on November 11th.