The Star Wars Murder Mystery Rivals True Detective
After the Sequel Trilogy kept bringing back characters and plot beats from the earlier films, Star Wars fans found themselves asking a depressing question: are there any new stories left for this franchise to tell? In our opinion, Star Wars writers need to draw from one particularly dark story that first appeared in the comic Star Wars Tales #17. That story features a Jedi with multiple personalities investigating her own killings, and the final result is a creepy murder mystery that rivals True Detective.
Star Wars Comics Explore Dark Corners Of The Galaxy
For the uninitiated, Star Wars Tales was a series of oversized comics featuring short, non-canonical stories from a galaxy far, far away. In issue #17, the final story is “Dark Journey,” and it features a Jedi named Vader Dir’Nul who ignores orders calling her to fight in the Clone Wars so she can investigate the murder of her lover, Ash B’risko. Despite a long investigation, all the Jedi knows is that the killer is named Kareem and, after B’risko, “he” has only killed Twi’lek dancing girls.
A Twist Worthy Of Prestige Television
If you’re wondering why we’re comparing this tale to True Detective, here’s the crazy twist: it turns out that Dir’Nul’s boyfriend actually cheated on her with (you guessed it) a Twi’lek dancing girl. This caused her mind to fracture into two different personalities: a ruthless Dark Jedi killer and the pure-hearted Jedi investigating the killer’s trail of bodies. Near the end of the story, she fights and kills a Jedi Council member who came to retrieve her, but when the Kardem personality retreats, we are left with Dir’Nul promising to bring the Jedi’s killer to justice.
A Jedi In Love Is A Dangerous Thing
This Star Wars tale isn’t as complex as a season of True Detective…after all, there’s only so much story you can cram into 12 pages. But we love this comic story because it presents a fresh take on Star Wars storytelling. At the same time, that storytelling is rooted firmly in franchise mythology, showing just how dangerous it can get when a Jedi forgoes their teaching and becomes romantically attached to someone.
Close In Tone To True Detective Season 1
In terms of narrative, this Star Wars tale is probably closest to the tone of True Detective’s very first season. Broadly speaking, that season is focused on two detectives who belatedly realize an old case they worked on is tied to a larger string of murders, leading to a final confrontation with someone who seems more monster than man. In this comic, our Jedi investigator creeps ever closer to realizing the murders she is investigating are tied to her succumbing to the Dark Side, and that final confrontation with a Jedi Council member (killed with Force lightning, no less) reveals just how monstrous she has become.
Star Wars For The Adults
The surface similarities between this old Star Wars comic and True Detective got us thinking: how cool would it be to have a dark Star Wars murder mystery on Disney+? It would provide a chance to finally focus on newer characters instead of constantly going back to the well with fan-favorite characters like Ashoka and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Additionally, it would be nice to have some live-action Star Wars stories aimed at adults, especially compared to downright infantile stuff like The Book of Boba Fett and The Rise of Skywalker.
Disney Needs To Explore The Dark Side Of Star Wars
Andor has already proven that Star Wars fans are ready for mature entertainment featuring darker stories and characters. Why not borrow a page out of True Detective’s book and create a show with season-long mystery arcs exploring the seedy underbelly of this sci-fi universe? If Disney wants to be provocative, may we suggest a storyline for the first season: investigating the sudden and grisly death of Grogu.
