Star Wars has an abundance of characters waiting to have their stories told. Whether through blockbuster movies or Disney+ series, there’s certainly no shortage of possibilities. With decades of rich lore, fascinating characters and countless untold stories, the franchise has enough source material to create incredible projects for years to come. You could pick from thousands of different stories and still barely scratch the surface of what this galaxy has to offer.
With that in mind, I’ve put together my top five Star Wars characters who deserve their own Disney+ series, exploring their untold stories and the incredible potential each of them could bring to the franchise.
1. Darth Revan
Jedi. Sith. Jedi. In that order. Revan is perhaps the biggest character on this list who deserves a live-action adaptation from Disney. Whether that’s a movie or a Disney+ series, either could work incredibly well. Revan has one of the most fascinating stories in Star Wars history. Once a respected Jedi Knight, he eventually falls to the dark side and becomes a powerful Sith Lord, only to have his memories erased by the Jedi Council. Given a second chance, Revan ultimately returns to the light and fights against the very Sith Empire he once helped create.
There’s so much more to Revan’s story than the character himself. You have Bastila Shan, who develops a close relationship with Revan before eventually being turned to the dark side by Darth Malak. Then there’s Malak himself, arguably one of the most interesting elements of this entire story. Revan and Malak were once incredibly close friends, practically brothers, before becoming Sith together. Their relationship eventually deteriorates, culminating in Revan slicing off Malak’s lower jaw during a confrontation. It’s a brutal moment that highlights just how far their relationship had fallen.
You could easily create three seasons around Revan’s story. The first could explore his time as a Jedi, the Mandalorian Wars and his eventual descent into darkness. Season two could focus entirely on Darth Revan, his Sith Empire and his deteriorating relationship with Malak, ending with his betrayal and the loss of his memories. Finally, season three could explore his redemption, his relationship with Bastila and his ultimate confrontation with Malak.
There’s an exceptional story waiting to be told here, and with the right writers, cast and budget, a Darth Revan Disney+ series could become one of the greatest Star Wars projects ever created.
2. Darth Vader
You could argue that Darth Vader has already had his time in the spotlight, but have we ever truly seen him in his prime as a Sith Lord? We’ve had glimpses of just how terrifying Vader can be, particularly in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and that unforgettable hallway scene at the end of Rogue One. However, there’s so much more to Darth Vader than his relationship with Anakin Skywalker and Luke.
There’s a version of Vader we’ve barely explored in live-action. A man adjusting to a suit that causes him constant discomfort, struggling with the loss of Padmé and, in many ways, grieving the person he once was. He’s angry, consumed by hatred and desperate for revenge. During the early years of the Empire, Vader hunted down surviving Jedi, engaging in some incredible battles along the way. Imagine an entire Disney+ series dedicated to this period of his life.
There’s also another side of Vader that we rarely get to see, and that’s Darth Vader the commander. General Skywalker was an exceptional military leader, and that ability didn’t simply disappear when he became Darth Vader. He remained a brilliant strategist, leading Imperial forces into battle and, at times, earning genuine respect from the soldiers serving beneath him. There are some fantastic moments throughout Star Wars lore where Vader demonstrates his leadership abilities, and I’d love to see more of that brought into live-action.
That’s exactly why Darth Vader deserves his own Disney+ series. Not simply because he’s one of the most iconic villains in cinema history, but because there’s still an incredible amount of his story left to tell.
3. Mace Windu
The man with the iconic purple lightsaber. The man who walked dangerously close to the boundary between light and dark, yet remained loyal to the Jedi Order. Mace Windu certainly has an interesting history, and there’s so much about him that deserves to be explored further. Perhaps most interestingly, he’s the man behind the legendary Vaapad lightsaber combat form, an incredibly aggressive fighting style that allows its user to channel their inner darkness without completely surrendering to it.
It’s this particular aspect of Windu that could make for an incredible Disney+ series. Imagine exploring a younger Mace Windu, still developing his abilities and learning to control his emotions. We could follow his early missions across the galaxy, taking down dangerous criminals, dealing with political corruption and gradually developing the fighting style that would eventually make him one of the most formidable Jedi in history. All of this while maintaining his unwavering loyalty to the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic.
There’s also an opportunity to explore how Windu eventually became one of the most respected members of the Jedi Council. We know him as a stern, disciplined Jedi Master, but what experiences shaped him into that person? What challenges did he face, and how did he learn to control the darkness within himself without falling victim to it?
A friend of mine even suggested Ashton Sanders for the role of a younger Mace Windu, and personally, I think that could work incredibly well. It would give Disney the opportunity to introduce a new generation to the character without needing to revisit the events of the prequel trilogy. Plus, we’d finally get to see considerably more of that beautiful purple lightsaber in action, which I’m certainly all for.
4. General Grievous
General Grievous is perhaps one of the most terrifying villains we’ve seen throughout Star Wars, but how much do we actually know about the man behind the mechanical body? We’ve seen him hunting Jedi, wielding four lightsabers and commanding entire Separatist armies, but there’s an incredible backstory that deserves to be explored in live-action. Before becoming the notorious Jedi killer, Grievous was a Kaleesh warrior named Qymaen jai Sheelal, and his journey from warrior to mechanical monster could make for an incredible Disney+ series.
In Star Wars Legends, Grievous was once a respected warrior who fought to defend his people on his homeworld of Kalee. However, following a devastating conflict involving the Republic and the Jedi, his hatred towards the Jedi Order began to grow. Things eventually took a horrifying turn when his shuttle was sabotaged, leaving him with catastrophic injuries. He was subsequently transformed into a cyborg, losing almost everything that made him who he once was. It’s a tragic origin story that adds another layer to a character we’ve primarily known as a ruthless villain.
A Disney+ series could explore Grievous before his transformation, following his time as a Kaleesh warrior, the conflicts that shaped his hatred of the Jedi and the events that eventually led to his reconstruction. We could then witness his training under Count Dooku, where he learned to wield lightsabers and became one of the most dangerous Jedi hunters in the galaxy. Imagine seeing his first encounters with Jedi, gradually collecting their lightsabers as trophies while establishing himself as the terrifying general we eventually meet in Revenge of the Sith.
There’s also the military side of Grievous that could be explored further. He wasn’t simply a killing machine. He was an incredibly capable strategist who commanded the Separatist Droid Army throughout the Clone Wars. A series could showcase his rise through the Separatist ranks while giving audiences a completely different perspective on the conflict. Rather than following the Republic and its Jedi heroes, we’d experience the Clone Wars through the eyes of one of its most feared villains.
General Grievous deserves more than being remembered as the coughing cyborg who was eventually defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi. There’s a fascinating, tragic and potentially terrifying story behind his transformation, and a Disney+ series could finally give that story the attention it deserves.
5. Darth Plagueis
We almost got this. Almost. The Acolyte had already laid the foundations for exploring Darth Plagueis, with his brief appearance in the season finale opening the door to something much bigger. A second season would likely have explored his relationship with The Stranger and his involvement in the growing influence of the Sith. Unfortunately, despite The Acolyte being a reasonably enjoyable show, it was cancelled before those stories could be explored further.
However, a Darth Plagueis series wouldn’t necessarily focus on that particular period for me. Instead, I’d love to see a series dedicated to his relationship with a young Sheev Palpatine and how he eventually transformed him into one of the most dangerous Sith Lords in Star Wars history.
Think about what Palpatine actually accomplished. This was a man who orchestrated the downfall of the Jedi Order, manipulated the Galactic Republic into becoming the Galactic Empire and ultimately achieved what generations of Sith had spent centuries attempting to accomplish. He practically wiped out the Jedi Order without them even realising who their true enemy was until it was far too late. And behind his rise to power was Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord who trained him in the ways of the dark side.
This is where I think a Disney+ series could become something truly special. Rather than focusing entirely on lightsaber battles and large-scale confrontations, I’d love to see something more political and espionage-driven. Imagine watching Plagueis manipulate powerful figures throughout the Republic while secretly training Palpatine, gradually positioning his apprentice to become one of the most influential politicians in the galaxy. We’d witness the deception, political corruption and carefully orchestrated events that eventually laid the foundations for the Empire.
There’s also the fascinating relationship between master and apprentice. Plagueis was obsessed with understanding the Force and overcoming death itself, while Palpatine was becoming increasingly consumed by his desire for absolute power. Their relationship could provide the emotional and psychological backbone of the entire series, eventually building towards the moment Palpatine betrays and murders his master.
We already know how Palpatine’s story unfolds, but we know considerably less about the man who helped shape him into the monster he eventually became. A Darth Plagueis series could finally explore that missing piece of Star Wars history, and personally, I think it has the potential to become one of the franchise’s most fascinating projects.
