Cast This: Darth Revan

Merry Christmas, everybody! 'Tis the season of good cheer, family, and tales taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, the culmination of the entire nine-film Skywalker Saga, opened in theaters just last week (check out the reviews from our own Matt Rooney and Chris Bumbray), and the finale of the first season of The Mandalorian will debut on Disney+ this Friday. Like it or not, it's the season of STAR WARS, and with Disney's sequel trilogy now complete, there's the question of where they'll take the franchise next.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI writer/director Rian Johnson is said to be working on an entirely new STAR WARS trilogy which would be separate from the Skywalker saga and introduce "new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is also developing a STAR WARS film with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and we've got several STAR WARS TV series to look forward to on Disney+, including an Obi-Wan Kenobi series (with Ewan McGregor reprising the role), a ROGUE ONE prequel series focusing on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), as well as the second season of The Mandalorian.

With the Skywalker Saga behind us, the sky is the limit for the future of the STAR WARS franchise, but one area which is of particular interest to fans is the past, especially the Knights of the Old Republic era. The popular Bioware video-game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes place 4000 years prior to the formation of the Galactic Empire and finds Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith, having unleashed an armada against the Republic, leaving the galaxy in a state of chaos. Malak also happens to be the former apprentice of Darth Revan, a character who has grown to become one of the most popular in STAR WARS lore. To go further, we'll have to drop some spoilers for a video-game which is pushing twenty years old. Consider yourself warned.

Darth Revan and Darth Malak were once Jedi-Knights who abandoned the Order to fight in the Mandalorian Wars where they fell to darkness. Returning to the Republic as Sith Lords, Darth Revan and Darth Malek sought to rule the galaxy, but Malek betrayed Revan, as the Sith are known to do, and took his title and position. Although severly injured, Revan actually survived and was taken in by Jedi Knights, who chose to wipe his memory. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic lets players take control of the memory-wiped Revan, who begins to uncover his past throughout the course of the game. Whether you remain on the Light Side of the Force or return to the Dark Side is up to the player. While the game left the player as something of a blank slate, there's ample potential for something fantastic on the big-screen.

Darth Revan is frequently chosen as one of the best characters in the expanded STAR WARS universe, but the character has made a few inroads into official STAR WARS canon as well; Revan was slated to appear in an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but was cut from the final episode. Additionally, Revan's name is also used in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary" as a name for one of the Legions of Sith Troopers. Obviously there's no guarantee that Darth Revan will show up in the future of the STAR WARS franchise, but hey, it's Christmas! Let me dream.

Let's get this casting underway and decide who should play Darth Revan in a potential STAR WARS project. As usual, I'll toss out a few suggestions to get you started. One of the most popular fan-picks to take on the role of Revan is Keanu Reeves (JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3), and you know what, I'd definitely be into that, if only to see Reeves' lightsaber skills. Next up is Michael Fassbender (X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX), whose name certainly comes up quite frequently in regards to these types of darkly conflicted roles, but I've no doubt that he would be able to knock it out of the park. For my final suggestion, I'll go a little younger with Toby Kebbell (KONG: SKULL ISLAND).

Remember, you're free to suggest anyone in the comments, so let your inner casting director run wild!

Previously on Cast This, you were asked to fill the role of Doctor Doom, one of Marvel's most brilliant villains as well as the archenemy of the Fantastic Four. As usual, you came through with some fantastic suggestions, including August Diehl (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), Martin Wallström (Mr. Robot), and Daniel Craig (NO TIME TO DIE).