Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader both seek Luke as their apprentice in the original Star Wars trilogy, but each of the two Sith Lords keeps other potential pupils as backup options. The Sith Order is famous for its Rule of Two, which restricts the number of Dark Lords to only two at a time and ensures that only the deadliest Sith can hold their title. Considering Luke’s sheer aptitude in the Force, it is no surprise that Palpatine and Vader wished to make him their Sith apprentice, but the two Dark Lords, particularly Palpatine, hardly hinged their plans on only one potential Sith apprentice.

The Sith Rule of Two was created by Darth Bane a millennium before the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The doctrine served multiple purposes, mitigating the Dark Lords’ tendency to betray each other, and using it to keep the order as strong as possible. The Sith master constantly seeks a new and better apprentice while they seek to overthrow their master and have a pupil of their own. As shown in both the canon and Legends Star Wars timelines, Vader and Palpatine continued to adhere to the Rule of Two even after the Sith gained control over the galaxy and all but destroyed their ancient enemies, the Jedi Knights.

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In both Star Wars continuities, there are far more than two dark side-users within the Galactic Empire, but only Palpatine and Darth Vader are true Sith Lords. Following his discovery, Luke Skywalker became a key component of both Dark Lords’ respective gambits for betrayal, but Palpatine, ever the schemer, had potential replacements for Vader in place well before considering Luke. In Legends, the most prominent of these potential Sith Lords are Mara Jade, Jerec, and Cronal while in canon, Palpatine has a seemingly limitless supply of dark side-imbued strand-casts hidden in his secret laboratory on Exegol. While not as ambitious as his master, Darth Vader also has potential Sith apprentices in the form of Lumiya, Flint, and Kharys.

Who Else Palpatine Considered To Replace Darth Vader In Star Wars

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Aside from Luke Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine’s clearest potential replacements for Darth Vader in canon are his cloned Sith Eternal guards. Debuted in Marvel’s Star Wars: Darth Vader comic series, they're described by Palpatine as such when Darth Vader discovers his master’s secret facility on Exegol and battles a group of the strand-cast warriors. Although Vader slaughters them, Palpatine’s resources allow him to grow more with ease. In addition to the Sith Eternal guards, the Empire also uses dark-side-trained Jedi hunters known as Inquisitors. These Imperial Inquisitors are all former Jedi and while they are Sith in all but name, Palpatine and Vader ensure that their power is limited, reducing their potential threat to the two Dark Lords but making their chances of becoming a true Sith extremely unlikely.

In canon, Darth Vader notably lacks treacherous ambition as a Sith Lord until the discovery of his son, Luke. Canon Star Wars comics have Palpatine note this, making it highly unlikely that Darth Vader has any other would-be Sith apprentices. While Darth Vader is undeniably the most powerful apprentice of Emperor Palpatine, his resignation to Sith Lordship and his ultimate lack of usefulness to the Empire give Palpatine more motivation to replace him than just following Sith tradition. Whereas the Legends-era Vader is one of the Imperial military’s most effective leaders, canon’s Darth Vader, as highlighted by Cassio Tagge, is more of a figurehead for the Empire than a truly useful military leader, making him, for all his power, rather expendable.

Star Wars Legends Candidates That Would've Replaced Darth Vader

In Legends, the Empire does not limit the potential power of its non-Sith dark side users, allowing Palpatine to have several potential replacements for Darth Vader on hand before discovering Luke. The Emperor’s adopted daughter, Mara Jade, is easily the most formidable, becoming known as The Emperor’s Hand and working as his personal assassin. One of the Empire’s Inquisitors, Jerec, is not only an exceptionally powerful and scholarly dark side-user, but he also loathes Darth Vader, wishing to supplant him at Palpatine’s side, though his attempts to undermine him were unsuccessful. The Prophet of the Dark Side and briefly the Director of Imperial Intelligence, Cronal is another potential replacement for Vader, with his skill in dark side sorcery and deceptive tactics nearly rivaling those of the two Dark Lords.

Related: Star Wars: What If Obi-Wan Killed Darth Vader In A New Hope?

Unlike his canon counterpart, the Legends version of Darth Vader has many dark-side apprentices, all of whom could be used to overthrow Emperor Palpatine. While many serve a specific purpose other than potential Sith Lordship — Galen Marek is used to root out potential Rebels, and Kharys maintains an Imperial hold on Skye — one of Vader’s apprentices becomes a true Sith. Lumiya, whose training eventually is known to Palpatine himself, succeeds Vader and the Emperor and becomes the Dark Lady of the Sith, establishing the next iteration of the Sith Order following the fragmentation of the Galactic Empire. Palpatine has many potential replacements for Darth Vader other than Luke Skywalker in both Star Wars timelines, but it is ultimately the Legends-era Lumiya who succeeds both Sith Lords.

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