Who Is Sifo-Dyas? Star Wars' Most Mysterious Jedi Master Ever Explained

There are lots and lots of Jedi masters in "Star Wars." Even if you focus on just the most prominent ones — think Yoda (Frank Oz), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor), Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and the like — you're looking at lore for days. As such, it's not all that unbelievable that the occasional little-known Jedi manages to fall through the cracks of public attention. However, things get really strange when a borderline unknown member of the Jedi Order manages to change the course of events in a way that directly influences the history of the Galaxy Far, Far Away as we know it.

Case in point: Jedi master Sifo-Dyas. A peripheral character who gets a passing mention in "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones" and a handful of posthumous cameos in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," Sifo-Dyas is a powerful but tormented member of the Jedi High Council whose visions of the future greatly affect the galaxy. They convince him that a war is coming and he needs to raise an army to defend the Galactic Republic. As it turns out, he's absolutely correct about the incoming turmoil ... but doesn't quite catch the role he has to play in the events. Thanks to Sith meddling, the army he starts building becomes the infamous clone trooper army that plays a crucial role in the fall of the Jedi Order and the Republic. 

Though he doesn't realize it, things start to go wrong for Sifo-Dyas at a young age when he befriends a fellow Jedi student called Dooku (Christopher Lee). As an adult, Sifo's army-building plans get him fired from his position in the Jedi High Council, but he nevertheless starts secretly building his clone army with the help of Kaminoan cloners. By this time, Dooku has already become Darth Tyranus, and when he and his Sith master Sheev "Darth Sidious" Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) catch wind of the plan, they start making moves to gain control of Sifo-Dyas' army. The Jedi dies when Dooku orders his shuttle shot down around the same time Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) becomes the queen of Naboo and young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) becomes Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan. The two Siths take over the clone army, making sure that every single clone is equipped with a chip that would later be used to trigger the infamous Jedi-killing Order 66. 

Because he's not only the one who comes up with the idea of building an army of clones but also the person who commissions the work and sets up the requisite processes in the first place, Sifo-Dyas is easily one of the most influential background figures in the entire "Star Wars" lore. Without his visions and reaction to them, Palpatine and Dooku would have a much more difficult time tackling the Jedi, let alone destroying the entire order.