Grand Plan

A renegade Jedi began to explore the dark side of the Force, believing it held the true essence of the Force, leading to his expulsion from the Jedi Order. He gathered followers, who became known as the Sith. Hostility quickly arose between the Jedi and Sith, resulting in conflicts such as the Jedi-Sith War. However, the Sith's insatiable hunger for power sparked internal strife, contributing to their eventual downfall. The Jedi Order prevailed over the Sith on Ruusan as a result of the Sith's weakened state.

Following this decisive victory, the Jedi were under the impression that the Sith Order had been completely eradicated. However, unbeknownst to the Jedi, Darth Bane, a Sith Lord, had managed to survive the destruction of the ancient Sith Order. Operating secretly within the galaxy, Bane employed cunning strategies and schemes to dismantle the Sith's adversaries, devising a comprehensive plan to corrupt the Galactic Republic from within, weaken the Jedi, and enable the Sith to once again dominate the galaxy.

Driven by a desire for vengeance and a determination to prevent the Sith's self-destruction through greed, Bane established the Rule of Two, a doctrine designed to ensure the Sith's clandestine operations. This rule stipulated that only two Sith Lords could exist simultaneously—a Sith Master and a Sith apprentice—and that succession required one to die. The apprentice would either grow more powerful through the death of their master, or the master would train an apprentice to kill and replace the current apprentice.

Bane drew inspiration from his own experiences, ancient Sith documents, and the concept of a dyad in the Force, a Force-bond of unparalleled strength that united two individuals strong in the Force as one. According to Darth Sidious, the Rule of Two was a diluted version of the more profound Doctrine of the Dyad. Following Bane's apparent demise at the hands of his apprentice, Darth Zannah, she and subsequent Sith continued to execute his plan.

Approximately a millennium after Darth Bane's era, Darth Sidious inherited the Sith Lord's legacy, having mastered the dark side of the Force as the apprentice of Darth Plagueis. Sidious ultimately betrayed and murdered his Master, subsequently choosing Darth Maul as his own apprentice. Sidious advanced his ascent to power by using his public persona as Sheev Palpatine, the Senator representing Naboo. In doing so, he infiltrated and deceived the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Senate, and the Jedi.

Sidious, leveraging his influence over the Trade Federation, instigated the blockade and subsequent invasion of his homeworld. His objective was to garner sympathy for the people of Naboo to facilitate his ascension to the position of Supreme Chancellor. Although Queen Padmé Amidala managed to escape with the assistance of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, she sought counsel from Senator Palpatine upon arriving in Coruscant, the Republic capital. Palpatine then persuaded the Monarch of Naboo to initiate a Vote of No Confidence against Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. While Amidala returned to Naboo to liberate her planet, Palpatine successfully secured his election as the Republic's new chancellor.

Despite the apparent death of Maul at the hands of Kenobi on Naboo, the crisis presented a new opportunity in the form of Anakin Skywalker, a child recognized by the Jedi as the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force. Sidious took a keen interest in Skywalker; as Palpatine, he subtly influenced the young Padawan's perspectives even as Skywalker trained under Kenobi, who was then promoted to Jedi Knight for defeating Maul.

Sidious selected Count Dooku, Qui-Gon’s Master who had left the Order, as his new Sith apprentice. Dooku embraced the dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus. Sidious and Tyranus learned that Sifo-Dyas, a former member of the Jedi High Council, had secretly commissioned a clone army to safeguard the Republic. To silence Sifo-Dyas, Tyranus contacted Lom Pyke of the Pyke Syndicate and paid the Pykes to assassinate Sifo-Dyas. However, unbeknownst to Tyranus, the Pykes kept Silman, an aide to Chancellor Valorum, alive as insurance against the Sith Lord.

Following Sifo-Dyas's death, Tyranus recruited and compensated Jango Fett, a bounty hunter, to serve as the clone template for the Kaminoans. Tyranus also provided the Kaminoan cloners with a behavioral modification biochip that would enable Sidious to activate the secret Protocol 66, compelling the clones to eliminate the Jedi. However, Tyranus deceived them into believing that it was a necessary safeguard that should be kept secret.

Count Dooku persisted in recruiting corporations and star systems into the Separatist movement. With the commencement of war on Geonosis in 22 BBY, the Jedi took up arms and led the newly formed clone troopers against the onslaught of the Separatist Droid Army. Thus began the Clone Wars, and as the conflict intensified and more Jedi perished in battle, Darth Sidious continued to expand the economic and political power of the Office of the Chancellor, allowing himself, as Palpatine, to garner increasing support in the Senate and control the InterGalactic Banking Clan, which provided financial assistance to both the Republic and the Separatists.

Despite his growing power and the Clone Wars progressing as planned, there were instances throughout the conflict where Sidious's master plan was nearly compromised. One such instance was the return of Maul, who seized control of Mandalore and began establishing his own criminal empire. Sidious perceived Maul as a threat to his plans, as the former Sith apprentice amassed considerable power and proclaimed himself and his younger brother, Savage Opress, as the true Lords of the Sith. Sidious traveled to Mandalore and confronted the Zabraks, killing Opress and capturing Maul. Following a brutal campaign, Sidious and the Separatists dealt a severe blow to Maul and his forces, compelling the Zabrak to operate in the shadows.

Sidious's plans also nearly unraveled due to the malfunction of the inhibitor chip in clone trooper Tup during the Battle of Ringo Vinda. This malfunction triggered the premature activation of Protocol 66, leading Tup to betray and execute Master Tiplar. Alarmed, Sidious ordered Tyranus to capture Tup to prevent the Jedi from discovering the true nature of Tup's breakdown. However, ARC trooper Fives uncovered the truth behind the conspiracy and the Chancellor's involvement, but he was killed by the Coruscant Guard before he could present his findings to the Jedi Council.

As the war neared its conclusion, the Jedi reopened their investigation into Sifo-Dyas's death after discovering his ship. Kenobi and Skywalker were dispatched to Oba Diah to investigate the Pykes' involvement in Sifo-Dyas's death. Aware of the stakes, Sidious sent Tyranus to the Pykes to prevent the Jedi from uncovering their true intentions for the war. Although Dooku killed Silman, an aide to Chancellor Valorum, and Lom Pyke, the Jedi learned of his identity as Darth Tyranus and that the Sith were responsible for the creation of the clone army.

After deciding that it was time to take Anakin as his next and final apprentice, Sidious orchestrated his own capture to tempt Anakin to the dark side by having him kill Tyranus. After Anakin defeated Tyranus, Sidious betrayed the latter by having Anakin kill him.

The Grand Plan culminated in Darth Sidious's seduction of Anakin to the dark side of the Force, anointing him as the Sith warlord Darth Vader shortly after the Battle of Coruscant in an effort to save Padme. With Vader at his command, Sidious activated Protocol 66, compelling the clones to betray their Jedi leaders, under whom they had served for three years, thereby initiating the Great Jedi Purge. As countless members of the Jedi Order were slaughtered, Sidious addressed the Senate as Chancellor Palpatine. Assuming the title of Galactic Emperor, he declared the transformation of the Republic into the first Galactic Empire.

With an unparalleled military and a loyal bureaucracy under his control, Darth Sidious had successfully conquered the galaxy, annihilated the Jedi Order, and achieved the Sith's long-awaited revenge. Having accomplished his objective of restoring the Sith to dominance, the Emperor abandoned the identity of Sheev Palpatine and henceforth existed solely as Darth Sidious.

Although the Grand Plan had been realized, the New Order and the Sith's reign were short-lived. The Alliance to Restore the Republic and surviving Jedi brought down Darth Sidious's tyrannical Empire during the Galactic Civil War. Masters Kenobi and Yoda instructed Padme and Anakin’s son Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi, ensuring the Order's resurgence. Confronting his father and Darth Sidious, Skywalker's plea for help against the Emperor's wrath convinced Darth Vader—the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker—to rescue Luke and overthrow Darth Sidious; the Sith Lord perished as he fell into an abyss aboard his new battle station, restoring balance to the Force.

However, death did not signify the end for Sidious; the Sith Lord's spirit retreated to Exegol, a hidden Sith stronghold located on the fringes of the galaxy, where he merged with Sith Eternal cultists through a clone body. From Exegol, Sidious manipulated the New Republic and forged the remnants of his fallen Empire into the First Order, a fact concealed from even the highest ranks of First Order leadership. Sidious created Snoke, who went on to rule the First Order as Supreme Leader, with his origins unknown to the First Order's leaders. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Force—an aspect of the Force that bound all things and communicated to living sentient beings, and which formed a balanced, symbiotic relationship with the Living Force, the energy of all life—became dormant after the Galactic Civil War, only to be reawakened with certain individuals' realization of their latent Force abilities in 34 ABY. Among these individuals was Rey, a scavenger on Jakku, who was unaware of her lineage as Darth Sidious's granddaughter.

In 35 ABY, with the New Republic decimated and large areas of the galaxy under the control of the First Order during their war with the Resistance, Darth Sidious returned to fully reclaim the galaxy. With the Sith Eternal's armada of planet-destroying warships, the Final Order, the Sith Lord and cultists intended to establish a New Sith Empire. As the Sith fleet prepared to strike at the embattled galaxy, the Sith Lord attempted to corrupt Jedi into his minions, reaching out to Ben Solo, the heir of the previous war's heroes.

When Rey, a Jedi student, guided Solo back to the light side of the Force through their newly discovered connection—a Force dyad of unprecedented power—the Sith sought to abandon his failing body and transfer his essence to his granddaughter. However, with her strong connection to the Force and the support of the Jedi before her, Rey resisted Sidious, ultimately destroying the Sith Lord's physical form and spirit, ending the Sith threat. Rey fell, but was resuscitated from death by Solo, who sacrificed his life for hers.

The Grand Plan was first hinted at in the 1999 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. The new Star Wars canon first identified it as the Great Plan in Star Wars Helmet Collection 2, released by De Agostini in 2016, and later as the Grand Plan in Star Wars Helmet Collection 44, released by De Agostini in 2017. In the 2012 Star Wars Legends novel Darth Plagueis, written by James Luceno, it was originally referred to as the Grand Plan.