This is actually a mild debate among Star Wars fans since the idea of Force ghosts is known to many people while it’s not as big of an issue with others since they either don’t care or haven’t heard as much about it. But one thing is clear to a lot of people: the Sith do not have Force ghosts. At least, that’s what appears to be true in the trilogies at least, since not a single dark side Force ghost has been seen yet. It’s fair to think that George Lucas might not have written such a part into his story initially, or had no idea what Star Wars was going to become and so didn’t even think about it. The latter is probably closer to the truth since Lucas has gone on to say that the Legends canon is not ‘his Star Wars’, meaning that he had no inclination to take things the way they went. yet he’s not too keen on what Disney did to his story either. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a lot of say in what they’re doing unless they ask him to come in and advise those that are working on one project or another since the $4 billion dollar price tag that gave the Mouse House control over Lucasfilm is a constant reminder that he gave up his right to as much as usual.
Yeah, that’s a little cynical, mostly because Disney has done a few great things with the Star Wars franchise, but they’ve also tossed up something that made a lot of money but at the expense of the franchise’s dignity. Anyway, onto the real subject of Force ghosts and why the Sith should have them, right? The explanation of Force ghosts tends to change from one person to another, but the overall gist is that becoming a Force ghost isn’t quite as easy as it might appear in the movies. It has more to do with being in tune with the Force and actually showing a desire to leave the absolute bliss of becoming one with the Force, as the Jedi talk about throughout the franchise.
For a Jedi, becoming one with the Force is the final step, so in reality, leaving that peaceful state and returning to the ethereal plane, and finding a way to not only appear, but be heard and be able to affect the material plane, are skills that only the most powerful Jedi have been seen to master thus far. But in the Legends canon, I can already feel eyes rolling out there, plenty of Sith lords have shown the capability of coming back as Force ghosts, and there’s a good reason why. Where Jedi become one with the Force by following its edicts and affecting a ‘go with the flow’ method at times, the Sith tend to assert their will and dominate whatever they can, which would include the Force. Being that the Force is an impartial element within the universe, it’s not at all difficult to see that the domination of the Sith might corrupt and warp the Force in a way, but it doesn’t lose much of its potency since some of the most powerful Sith have in fact created Force ghosts in the Legends canon.
From Exar Kun to Darth Bane, Darth Nihilus, Naga Sadow, and several others, dark side Force ghosts have usually been seen to remain wherever their remains were laid, as it would appear that they’re tied to one location and don’t move more often than not. That kind of limitation is interesting to be honest since it does bring up the question that if Palpatine, the most powerful Sith of his time, could return as a Force ghost, where would he appear? It’s not likely something we’ll see in a Star Wars movie anytime soon, but it’s still an interesting idea that could hopefully blossom into something that might take root in the franchise and come to fruition at a later date. If nothing else, the idea of Force ghosts is something that could contribute to a Star Wars horror movie. There are those out there who would gladly take on the challenge of creating a horror entry in the Star Wars franchise, and it would be entirely welcome at this point just to see if it would work.
As mentioned, it’s been debated as to why the Sith can’t come back as Force ghosts, but that explanation makes little sense considering that the Sith tend to take what they want and if they’re not powerful enough they find a way. Seeing a Sith Force ghost would be utterly terrifying no doubt and it would also show that there’s no real escape from some villains until they’re completely eradicated. It would be interesting, if it ever happened, to see which Force ghost might be used.
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