One Of Star Wars' Most Powerful Sith Lords Was Played By ... Mark Hamill?

Mark Hamill is best known by both "Star Wars" fans and casual viewers alike for his career-defining turn as Luke Skywalker. The central hero of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Luke has been played onscreen multiple times by Hamill, who reprised his role as the character in all three of the franchise's Disney-produced sequel films. Suffice it to say, Luke will likely always be Hamill's most well-known role. That doesn't mean, however, that the iconic "Star Wars" hero is the only major character Hamill has played throughout his career.

Luke isn't even the only "Star Wars" character that the actor has portrayed. Indeed, Darth Bane is among the staggering number of villains Hamill has voiced. To date, the legendary Sith Lord has only appeared in one canonical "Star Wars" project: the finale of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" Season 6. The episode follows Yoda as he travels to Moraband, the homeworld of the Sith. Once there, he faces the sentient ghost of Darth Bane, who tests his commitment to the Jedi Order, as well as his ability to see through certain Dark Side illusions. During their brief but noteworthy interaction, Bane is voiced by none other than Hamill himself. 

While this detail might not initially seem like anything more than a fun Easter egg, Darth Bane is definitely a character worthy of a performer like Hamill. He is, in fact, one of the most important Sith Lords in "Star Wars" history.

Darth Bane was a member of the Sith Empire — then known as the "Brotherhood of Darkness" — during the Fall of the Old Republic around 1,000 years before the events of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." He ended up being the sole Dark Side survivor of the Jedi-Sith War, a conflict that resulted in almost the total destruction of the Sith Order. The Jedi even believed that the Sith had been vanquished forever, but Bane secretly survived the conflict.

Realizing the damage that their constant infighting had done to the Sith, Bane reformed the Order with a new, guiding mandate known as "The Rule of Two." The directive stipulated that there could only ever be two Sith — a Master to share their knowledge and power and an apprentice ambitious enough to one day take their place. The Rule of Two limited the amount of inevitable Sith infighting and laid the foundation for a seemingly endless cycle of violent ascension. Bane's mandate was followed closely by his successors, including Emperor Palpatine, which means it paved the way for the eventual fall of the Galactic Republic and the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Darth Bane's role in the history of the Sith is alluded to during his scene in the Season 6 finale of "The Clone Wars." When his specter asks Yoda if he knows who he is, the Jedi Master says, "Yes. Darth Bane. The ancient Sith Lord, you are. Created the Rule of Two, you did." In response, Darth Bane explains, "The Sith killed each other. Victims of their own greed. But from the ashes of destruction, I was the last survivor. I chose to pass my knowledge on to only one. I created a legacy so resilient that now you come before me."

Darth Bane's appearance in the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" Season 6 finale isn't just a fun cameo. The episode is the final installment of a multi-episode arc that follows Yoda as he slowly begins to grasp the insidious danger that has been lurking in the shadows for the entirety of "The Clone Wars." One of the ways the episode does that is by bringing Yoda face to face with a specter of the very Sith Lord who laid the foundation for the Dark Side's slow but sure rise to power.

With all this in mind, Dave Filoni revealed in a Q&A about "The Clone Wars" Season 6 why he ultimately chose to cast Mark Hamill as the powerful villain. "I didn't want to waste [Mark]. He'd talked to me a couple of times [about the show]," Filoni said. "I told him, 'I wanna use you, absolutely, but I want to have a role for you that I think is worthy of you and something you'd be interested in."

Filoni went on to explain why he found it interesting to have Hamill voice a character who is so different from Luke Skywalker. "When I had this opportunity, I thought, 'Well, what a great, bizarre reflection — to have Mark play the ultimate side of good and light and then kind of the father of old, ancient evil," the "Clone Wars" writer remarked. "He was super excited about that opportunity, and Mark does evil characters so well."

By playing one of the franchise's strongest heroes and one of its most legendary villains, Hamill has gotten the rare chance to explore both sides of the "Star Wars" series' central conflict. Not many other actors can say the same thing.