A new Force-sensitive character in the Star Wars franchise, the Archivist, not only provides a fascinating perspective on the Force but also uses a rejected visual design for a “Sith Witch” from the prequel era. The Archivist is a valuable member of Crimson Dawn (now led by Qi'ra) whose life had been ruined by the machinations of Emperor Palpatine (the public identity of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.) While neither a Sith nor truly aligned with the dark side of the Force, the Archivist resembles the design of a chilling Sith character, making her the latest example of the Star Wars franchise reusing previously rejected concepts.
Once known as Madelin Sun, the Archivist was a scholar of dark side-imbued artifacts and a teacher at the University of Bar'leth, but the newfound Galactic Empire’s laws against any study of the Force resulted in her losing her job. The Archivist soon joined Qi'ra, enticed by the prospect of enacting revenge on the Sith Lord and Emperor who ruined her life. One of her missions for Qi'ra was finding and potentially recruiting the former Jedi Grandmaster Yoda, a mission that would change both her perspective and appearance.
In issue 3 of Crimson Reign, by Charles Soule and Steven Cummings, the Archivist’s full origin is shown, with the Force-sensitive traveling to Dagobah. There, Madelin is forced to hide in the planet’s dark side cave to escape a massive creature’s attacks. In the cave, the Archivist’s understanding of the Force and its dark side changes, as does her appearance, altered by the cave’s intense dark side energies. The Archivist’s new appearance closely resembles an early concept for Darth Maul that was later repurposed for the Legends-era Nightsisters of Dathomir.
During the development of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, artist Iain McCaig was tasked by George Lucas with creating nightmarish concept art for Darth Maul. The result was deemed too disturbing by Lucas, though McCaig’s following designs did end up being the basis of the Sith Lord. McCaig’s initial design nevertheless had a strong influence on the Star Wars Legends continuity, and many of Dathomir’s Nightsisters (human witches with powerful dark side abilities) have appearances derived from McCaig’s first Darth Maul design.
The Star Wars franchise has a habit of finding ways to use its rejected concepts, with other examples including Ralph McQuarrie’s Alderaan and Stormtrooper concepts being used in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and Kylo Ren’s original armor designs becoming the Guavian Death Gang’s enforcers in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Even early drafts of Star Wars’ script were adapted to comic form in 2013’s limited series The Star Wars as a non-canon alternate take on Lucas’ universe. Star Wars concept art typically finds its way into canonical material sooner or later, and the Archivist’s “Sith Witch” design makes excellent use of Iain McCaig’s concept art for a character who it seems will have a major influence on the future of the galaxy.