An exciting new Star Wars theory proposes that Darth Bane made a major impact on the galaxy, perhaps even before he created the Sith’s infamous Rule of Two. The primary galaxy far, far away is incredibly vast, filled with an impressive number of planets and worlds, all connected by a series of trade routes and major hyperspace lanes. However, I think the parts of the galaxy we don’t know about may be the fault of Bane himself.

In the days of the Old Republic, we know Darth Bane ensured there would only be two Sith Lords: a master and an apprentice. The master holds the power of the dark side while the apprentice craves it, eventually taking the master’s place with an apprentice of their own. However, some newer Star Wars reveals have me convinced that Darth Bane’s impact on the galaxy is far bigger than the Rule of Two.

Star Wars’ New Galaxy Map Shows How Mᴀssive The Unknown Regions Really Are

Nearly Half of The Entire Galaxy

Lucasfilm has recently revived its old cartography page on StarWars.com with a brand-new map. Likewise, the map has been updated to include some of the newest planets from recent Star Wars shows and content. Additionally, you can also see all the various sectors from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim, the biggest hyperspace lanes, including the Hydian Way, and even the more dangerous parts of the galaxy, like the region controlled by the Hutts.

However, one of the biggest elements that always surprises me is seeing just how big the Unknown Regions truly are. A few planets within the mysterious sector are known, like the ancient Jedi world of Ahch-To and the ancient Sith world of Exegol. However, the Unknown Regions are largely an enigma as the name suggests.

This is due to the numerous hyperspace anomalies that exist in this section of the Star Wars galaxy. One such obstacle includes the Red Honeycomb Zone aka The Blood Net, a web of anomalies that’s also home to a subspecies of summa-verminoth, mᴀssive deep-space beasts capable of psychic attacks. However, the Blood Net is just one of many challenges that make the Unknown Regions so hard to navigate.

That being said, one has to wonder if nearly half of the entire Star Wars galaxy was always so hard to traverse. Perhaps something happened to the galaxy in the ancient past, resulting in such a major portion of the map becoming lost to time. To that end, it’s possible that the answer could very well lie with Darth Bane.

Were The Unknown Regions Created By A Sith Superweapon?

From Star Wars’ Ancient Past

In the ancient past of the Star Wars timeline, several superweapons existed long before the first and second Death Stars. This has been confirmed in a few different ways in the established Star Wars canon:

• Star Wars Rebels revealed the ancient Sith world of Malachor and its large pyramid-like superweapon, nearly reactivated by Darth Maul during the Dark Times.
• Andor season 2 featured some key Easter eggs suggesting Darth Revan’s Star Forge is still canon. The Star Forge was a superweapon from the Old Republic Era made by the Rakatans, capable of draining the energy from stars to create an infinite fleet. Perhaps the routine draining of stars had a negative effect on the galaxy over time, contributing to The Unknown Regions’ aforementioned anomalies.
• Thrawn’s Chiss Ascendancy, based in the Unknown Regions, found and claimed two “Star Flashes”. Star Flashes were superweapons capable of firing enormous blasts of tachyonic and lightspeed energy at a star, resulting in an even more powerful burst of devastating power.

Master Yoda once recalled a very telling bit of history during The Clone Wars, confirming the existence of several superweapons at a time when “the Sith and Jedi fought for control of the galaxy”. Keeping that in mind, the theory is simple: the Unknown Regions were created by some kind of major Sith superweapon. Furthermore, I think Darth Bane had a direct hand in what would have been a mᴀssive reshaping of the entire Star Wars galaxy.

I Totally Think Darth Bane Created The Unknown Regions

Wiping Out ALL Of His Rivals

In the old pre-Disney canon now known as non-canonical Legends, Darth Bane manipulated the Sith’s Brotherhood of Darkness, motivating them to use an ancient ritual to generate a devastating Force event known as a “Thought Bomb”. Bane had his fellow Sith believing that only the Jedi were warring with would be killed. However, they ended up wiping themselves out as well at the end of the Old Republic.

This paved the way for Darth Bane to instigate the Rule of Two, creating a singular lineage of masters and apprentices culminating in Sidious and Darth Vader. However, more recent and canonical reveals suggest Darth Bane’s influence was much bigger, supporting the theory that he might have caused the creation of the Unknown Regions.

Canonical Star Wars comics recently confirmed that Darth Bane apparently ruled his own Sith empire ahead of the High Republic Era, a surprising deviation from what was known about his story in Legends. To that end, Darth Bane might have gone much bigger in the canonical Star Wars timeline, seeking to wipe out both his Jedi and Sith rivals on a much grander, galaxy-wide scale. It would explain why such key Jedi and Sith worlds are located in the Unknown Regions.

It’s exciting to remember that the Star Wars franchise will soon be looking more towards the ancient past, beginning with James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi movie set 25,000 years before the Skywalker saga. Focused on the origins of the First Jedi, perhaps we could actually see what the Unknown Regions looked like before they became so perilous. However, that’s ᴀssuming this Darth Bane theory is true.

I think it’s only a matter of time before Lucasfilm starts delving into the canonical Old Republic Era on a level they never have before in the Disney-approved continuity. With any luck, my theory will one day be proven true, and that Darth Bane’s legacy will become much larger than we currently know.