Star Wars has secretly confirmed a Clone Wars era retcon – one that will have major implications as the New Republic era moves forward on Disney+ and beyond. One of Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ most formidable additions to Disney’s Star Wars canon was the Nightsisters. The Dathomirian Nightsisters, led by Mother Talzin, were a race of witches that resided on the planet Dathomir, able to channel the dark side of the Force through green energy known as magick. This magick allowed them to teleport, transfigure objects and people, use mind control, and resurrect the dead.
The Nightsisters’ strong connection to the dark side drew the attention of the galaxy’s other strongest dark-side wielders – Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Count Dooku. Though Palpatine originally wanted to harness the Nightsisters’ powers for himself, he soon realized that was futile, and ordered them to be slaughtered instead. Dooku sent General Grievous to massacre them in a bloody conflict known as the Battle of Dathomir. In the aftermath, less than a handful of Nightsisters remained – or so audiences were led to believe. As it turns out, The Clone Wars’ Asajj Ventress, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s Merrin, and Ahsoka’s Morgan Elsbeth may not be the only surviving Dathomirian Nightsisters.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, which is replacing Tales of the Jedi season 2, will delve into the stories of three Imperial characters. The Tales of the Empire trailer confirms that Lady Morgan Elsbeth will be a point of focus, giving audiences a glimpse into her experience of the Battle of Dathomir, her time on Corvus, and most importantly, how she became allied with Grand Admiral Thrawn. In Ahsoka, Morgan was responsible for bringing Thrawn back from exile, which will, most likely, throw the galaxy into chaos and force the New Republic’s hand in the fight against the Imperial Remnant in Star Wars’ upcoming movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu.
In the Tales of the Empire trailer, Morgan says her people were “all but destroyed.” This implies, and perhaps even confirms, that the Nightsisters are not gone from the galaxy entirely. Morgan, Merrin, and Asajj may still have more sisters out there. Dathomir is a large planet; it’s hard to believe that Grievous would have wiped out every single Nightsister clan in one fell swoop. If there are still surviving Nightsister sects on Dathomir or scattered across the galaxy, then the New Republic will have to deal with more than just Thrawn and the Imperial Remnant. The Nightsisters may be coming for them too.
During his exile in Star Wars’ secondary galaxy, Grand Admiral Thrawn met and allied himself with the Great Mothers of the Nightsisters. They helped Thrawn escape Peridea – without their assistance, he would undoubtedly still be stranded there. The Great Mothers are likely of the same rank, or perhaps even more important than Mother Talzin was, and thus extremely powerful. Once Thrawn returned to Star Wars’ primary galaxy, he and the Great Mothers headed straight for Dathomir, possibly to use it as their base of operations. If Thrawn wanted to defeat the New Republic once and for all, the Nightsisters would undoubtedly be powerful allies.
If there are more than just a handful of Nightsisters left, the Great Mothers could be instrumental in reuniting them, and with Thrawn’s resources, they may become a major power in the galaxy once more. If this is how the story moves forward, it would present an interesting parallel with how Mandalore was reclaimed, too. The Empire believed the Mandalorians to be wiped out, but many factions were scattered across the galaxy, and as soon as they came together, they were powerful enough to defeat Moff Gideon and reclaim their homeworld for themselves. The Nightsisters may yet be given the same opportunity in Star Wars’ next movie.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire premieres May 4 exclusively on Disney+.