Star Wars: Master of Evil Will Explore the Most Mysterious Point in Darth Vader’s History

Fleshing out the details of Darth Vader’s life between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope has become extremely popular for Star Wars creators and fans, and a new novel promises to take us into his darkest chapter yet. Star Wars: Master of Evil was just announced ahead of Star Wars Celebration Japan, with more details to follow at the convention’s publishing panel. The book comes from author Adam Christopher, whose 2022 novel Shadow of the Sith became a New York Times bestseller. The story will reportedly concern “Vader’s haunting pursuit for the power to conquer death.” It’s available for pre-order now, and is scheduled for release on November 11th, 2025.

Master of Evil features a striking cover by artist Simon Goinard, depicting a broken and mangled Darth Vader helmet with one weary eye glaring out from it. The story takes place shortly before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, when we know Vader was in a dark and dangerous state of mind. At the same time, it will apparently harken back to the reason he joined the Sith in the first place — the quest to conquer death for those he loves.

It’s unclear what would drive Vader to renew his search for this power. As far as we know, he still believes that his unborn children died with Padme, so he isn’t consciously aware of either Luke or Leia. That doesn’t seem to leave anyone important that he still loves, so perhaps he’s seeking immortality for himself here.

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The announcement shouts out two other places where Vader’s activity during this time was explored — comic books and the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. More recently, fans saw Vader confront his old mentor in the live-action series Kenobi, but it’s unclear if that plot will be taken into account here. There is more Star Wars material than any one fan could hope to memorize, but since Disney split the Legends timeline off, many people have their own ideas about what is and isn’t canonical.

Christopher’s previous work in the franchise includes books and comics, but Shadow of the Sith is his most lauded contribution to Star Wars so far. The novel takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, and it follows Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian on a mission to hunt down a Sith assassin, whom they suspect has kidnapped Lando’s daughter.

That novel is available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats. Master of Evil can be ordered in all three formats now, and will become available on November 11th.