A Scrapped Star Wars Villain Is About To Become Canon in a Surprising Way

Atha Prime, a Star Wars villain who was supposed to be a key part of a cancelled action figure line, is set to officially become part of the franchise canon. In a press release, Disney and Lucasfilm announced the character will appear in the comic book series Star Wars: Jedi Knights from Marc Guggenheim and Madibek Musabekov. Releasing on March 5th, the series is set prior to The Phantom Menace, with each issue depicting various Jedi embarking on missions across the galaxy. Atha Prime is described as “a mysterious plant’s tyrannical ruler who boldly opposes the Republic and the Jedi Order.”

Mark Paniccia, a senior editor at Marvel Comics, discussed how Atha Prime became part of the project. “While developing the series, Marc discovered this deep cut—the antagonist from Kenner’s unrealized The Epic Continues toy line,” he said. “We saw the original design and were immediately sold. What a cool character to bring into canon and what a perfect book to do it in!” Alongside the press release, the character’s design sheet and two variant covers were shared. One of the covers is modeled after Kenner’s classic Star Wars action figure packaging. Check out images in the space below:

In the 1980s, Kenner’s The Epic Continues initiative was conceived to give the Star Wars franchise a narrative structure following the conclusion of the original trilogy. Atha Prime was positioned to be the next main villain, filling the void left by the fallen Emperor Palpatine. A key part of Atha Prime’s backstory was that he was the mastermind behind the Clone Wars, using his knowledge of genetics to engineer an army of clone warriors. Ultimately, none of the action figures planned for the line were made, as Lucasfilm turned down Kenner’s proposal. Following this, there were attempts to introduce Atha Prime in the Expanded Universe, but nothing came to fruition.

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Star Wars: Jedi Knights was announced back in October 2024. In addition to introducing new characters, the series will feature familiar faces including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda, and Mace Windu. The idea is to explore how the Jedi Order operated in the years prior to the Clone Wars. While each issue spotlights a different pair of Jedi, everything ties together via an “overarching threat.”

It will be interesting to see how Atha Prime is portrayed in canon. There will most likely be some significant changes when compared to Kenner’s original idea. In all likelihood, this version of Atha Prime won’t have anything to do with the Clone War, which was orchestrated by Palpatine as part of his plan to take over the galaxy. Still, the initial Atha Prime concept could provide a solid foundation to build upon. Billing the villain as a “tyrannical ruler” vehemently against the Jedi suggests Atha Prime will be on a mission to eliminate the Order in pursuit of galactic conquest, similar to how his Kenner counterpart waged war against the Rebel Alliance heroes.

Seeing that Atha Prime hasn’t been mentioned in canon before this comic, it’s plausible that he will be defeated by the time the series reaches his end. It would be jarring if it was established that Atha Prime was still around as Palpatine rose to power. However, that doesn’t mean that the character couldn’t have a future outside of Star Wars: Jedi Knights. In Kenner’s outline, Atha Prime was exiled prior to the events of the original trilogy and only re-emerged after Palpatine’s death. Perhaps Atha Prime’s canon version will follow a similar arc, leaving the door open for a possible return. If the character resonates with readers, Lucasfilm would probably be interested in bringing him back for another comic or even an on-screen project.