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An ancient evil rises if the alleged villains of Star Wars: Episode VII are real (updated)

ancient evil rises alleged villains star wars episode vii real darth vader
Image used with permission by copyright holder
UPDATE: Don’t worry, we’re not sharing the goods up here. There’s been another development in this deluge of purportedly leaked details, however, and if you’ve been following along without a care for the spoilers then you’re not going to want to miss this. Just scroll to the bottom to see what’s up.

ORIGINAL POST: Ready for some more Star Wars: Episode VII news? This one comes with a big, fat, gigantic SPOILER ALERT attached. Seriously. You shouldn’t even be reading these words right now if you want to steer completely clear of all Episode VII details until the big day arrives in December 2015. It sure would make director J.J. Abrams happy if you shut your eyes and ignored everything.

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Okay, now that we’ve got the informal throat-clearing out of the way — which, let’s face it, exists purely to pad out the top of this post so the spoiler-wary have time to run for the hills — let’s get to the goods. We’ve seen alleged Stormtrooper helmets. We’ve seen what the new vision of Old Han Solo looks like. Now let’s talk about Episode VII‘s villains.

Yes, plural. This is all wrapped up in significant story spoilers, but we’ll just start with the facts for now. It appears that Episode VII‘s baddies have some kind of connection with the Inquisitor, one of the main antagonists in the upcoming Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series. Latino Review brings word that the Inquisitor is actually one of many, and that the many — all of whom serve as defenders of the Sith Order — are the ones butting heads with our heroes in Episode VII.

Related: You’ve seen Star Wars, but we bet you haven’t seen this amazing Chinese bootleg comic of Star Wars

Star Wars Inquisitor
Lucasfilm / Lucasfilm

It doesn’t stop there. It seems that the history of the Inquisitors extends back to at least the time of the Original Trilogy. Luke reportedly launches into an explanation of the Sith Order’s history at some point during the events of Episode VII, and that explanation leads to a flashback which reveals that the Inquisitors worked in service to Darth Vader himself.

These are just the topline details. If you want more, Latino Review has a rough rundown of the movie’s first act, along with some additional details about cast members and a surprise appearance of a fan favorite character. We don’t want to steal all their thunder.

Bear in mind, though: As with the Stormtrooper helmets and the Han Solo concept art, this information is very much unconfirmed and pure rumor at this point. There’s a lot of interest in Episode VII, and for all we know, Abrams is spreading misinformation himself in an effort to keep the wolves at bay. These story points certainly line up with Episode VII‘s previously rumored subtitle: “The Ancient Fear.”

Stay tuned for more when we hear it.

THE REAL UPDATE: So IndieRevolver is back with more details on the Inquisitor — sounds like there’s only one, or at least one primary villain — that is set to rain down hardship on your favorite heroes of the Star Wars universe, old and new. In addition to a full description of what the character looks like, there’s also a piece of concept art, featuring said Inquisitor holding Darth Vader’s shattered helmet.

Head over to IndieRevolver for the full description, along with some deeper insight to what may be going on with this character. We’ll just whet your appetite now by showing you the (again, alleged) concept art:

Sith Inquisitor
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
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