Abeloth

In recent years Star Wars has begun to branch off from the main saga to explore other stories or expand on parts of the Star Wars universe. First, we were treated to Rogue One which explored how the Rebels obtained the plans to the Death Star and why it was destroyed so easily. Next we are getting Solo which is going to explore the backstory of Han Solo and several key events in his past.

I do love that Star Wars is branching off of the main saga, but I do hope they use the opportunity to bring storylines and characters from the EU into the main continuity. I also am hoping they create stand-alone films that relate to the Dark Side, while Rogue One was great and Solo looks good it would just come off as one-note if all of the new films focus on the protagonists of the saga only.

I know Disney owns Star Wars and do not like anything overly dark in tone, but that does not mean I can't hope for some Dark Side stories to become stand-alone films. In what I hope to become a regular series of articles I will cover how Disney could handle stories about the Dark Side of the Force.

Abeloth: A 'Star Wars' Dark Side Story

Out of all of the stories from the EU, I find myself wanting an adaptation of Abeloth's story the most. For those who are unaware Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced us to The Ones, mysterious beings who took the forms of The Father, The Daughter and The Son, representatives of the Force, the Light Side and the Dark Side respectively. These beings were immensely powerful in their use of the Force, but their alignments with the Light Side and Dark Side caused the Daughter and Son to fight endlessly.

This all changed when a woman crash-landed on the planet that they were on. She was unable to leave so she soon adopted the family as her own becoming the Mother. As time went on the woman, Abeloth, was able to quell the children and ended their fighting. This changed when she began to grow old, and the fighting began again. To stop the fighting she ventured to two forbidden places on the planet that were nexuses for the Light Side and for the Dark Side of the Force bathing in one and drinking from the other.

These actions caused her to become an aberration of the Force, a being so powerful that she was able to single handed stop the Daughter and Son through sheer power with the Force. The Father came to his children's rescue and they sealed Abeloth away. The Daughter and Son would return periodically to her prison and reinforce it so she could not escape.

Unfortunately during the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Anakin and company crash on the planet The Ones are on and inadvertently causes the family to destroy each other. After some time Abeloth's prison weakens allowing her to escape and begin causing devastation across the galaxy. She is able to possess, influence and control individuals from across the galaxy and was so powerful that Luke had to ally himself with the Sith to challenge her. They were successful in defeating Abeloth, but Luke suspected she allowed them to succeed and she would return again.

I think that Abeloth's story would be an excellent way to show the events that led into The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, similar to how Rogue One did for A New Hope. Like in the EU Abeloth's prison weakens and she breaks free, Luke senses her through the Force and begins to search her out. He discovers how powerful she is and is forced to ally with Snoke which is how Snoke meets Ben Solo. Luke, Ben, Snoke, and several others confront her and, after a hard fought battle, succeed in destroying her but Luke suspects she let them win. Luke and Ben return to the Jedi Temple and that night Luke goes to check on Ben and we see the scene from The Last Jedi unfold.

For casting I would have Mark Hamill, Adam Driver and Andy Serkis reprise their roles of Luke Skywalker, Ben Solo and Supreme Leader Snoke respectively. As for Abeloth herself, I think there is only one choice:

Cate Blanchett

The beautiful and talented Cate Blanchett would be the perfect actress to portray Abeloth's main form. Her handling of the dark Hela in Thor: Ragnarok and the silently powerful Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies gives credence to this. Abeloth is a twisted corruption of both of these characters, a cross between the dark Hela with the powers of Galadriel. Cate would rock as Abeloth, someone get an Oscar ready for her for this role!