The Sorcerers of Tung - Star Wars' "magic" alternative to the Sith - are finally returning to official continuity. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the House of Mouse made the decision to erase the old Expanded Universe from Star Wars canon. It's easy to understand why it made that choice, of course; the lore had become complicated and difficult to navigate, and its plans for the sequel trilogy would have been impossible given the post-Return of the Jedi stories that had already been told in what was now called Star Wars Legends.
Since then, Disney has mined the old Expanded Universe, turning many aspects of Legends into part of new canon. The ever-expanding Star Wars franchise has incorporated countless star-systems, worlds, Force powers, and even characters from the EU. The most recent tales have gone one step further, dropping in smart Easter eggs and references that mean their stories would work in both continuities. That approach is best exemplified by the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV series, which carefully avoided contradicting anything in Legends.
Now, Marvel Comics has released an exclusive preview of Star Wars: The High Republic #1, by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito, which brings a fascinating dark side cult called the Sorcerers of Tund into canon. The Sorcerers of Tund use the dark side in a very different way to the Sith, meaning they have unlocked Force powers that appear strange and unusual to Jedi and Sith alike. They only appeared a handful of times in the old EU, where they were portrayed as having been driven mad by the Force.
The Sorcerers of Tund Return
According to Star Wars: The High Republic #1, a Sorcerer of Tund who left his homeworld is tied to the origin of Jedi Vildar Mac. Enjoy the preview below, as shared by the Star Wars website.
The Sorcerers of Tund had already been briefly mentioned in the Disney canon, notably in Cavan Scott's audiobook Dooku: Jedi Lost. There, a couple of young Padawans broke into the Bogan Collection, the vault where Jedi kept dark side artifacts too dangerous to be stored anywhere else. They discovered a number of relics, including several connected to the Sorcerers of Tund, and wondered where they had come from. It's quite possible Scott's Star Wars: The High Republic series is about to answer that question.
It's exciting to see the Sorcerers of Tund fully enter again canon again. Their reintroduction fits perfectly with one of the emphases of the Disney era; the open acknowledgment that there are more Force-groups out there than just Jedi and Sith. Given Star Wars: The High Republic #1 - on sale October 12 - opens with Jedi Vildar Mac being sent on a mission to Jedha, a pilgrimage world for countless Force sects, it's likely this approach will continue in the next wave of Star Wars novels and comics.
Source: Star Wars