Star Wars: Darksaber (film)

Star Wars: Darksaber is a 1996 direct-to-video animated epic space opera film directed by, written by and ,  and based on a story by. Produced by and Lucasfilm Feature Animation, in association with, and distributed by , it is the second installment of The Callista Trilogy that involves the character Callista Ming, following Children of the Jedi (1995) and preceding Planet of Twilight (1997).

Plot
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo have returned to the planet Tatooine to visit Jabba the Hutt's Palace. Once there, they meet a former rival of Jabba named Maizor. Jabba had instructed the B'omarr monks to transplant Maizor's brain into a BT-16 spider droid during his lifetime. Luke and Han now face him and learn that the palace has been searched more often by Hutten in recent times. They found secret Imperial information that Jabba had collected in the palace. Thoughtfully, Luke and Han leave the palace again and march to Obi-Wan Kenobi's old, abandoned hut. There, Luke hopes to contact the deceased Jedi for a way to save Callista and regain her ancient Jedi talents. This is unsuccessful, however, and they return to the New Republic to warn them of the Hutts' plans.

Durga the Hutt and the Death Star designer, Bevel Lemelisk, have valuable metals mined around Hoth asteroid belt. Bevel, reduced to a clone of himself by Palpatine's ongoing torture and executions, is very impatient and demands the Death Star's plans from Durga. To get the plans, Durga travels to Coruscant, where the related database is located. Arrived on the planet, he meets Leia Organa Solo, whom he persuades to want to enter into an alliance with the New Republic. As Leia and Durga negotiate the terms of an upcoming collaboration between the Hutt clans and the Republic, dozens of Taurill brought by Durga use their collective consciousness to break into the secret databases and copy the Death Star's plans. With the offer to continue further talks on Nal Hutta, Durga says goodbye to Leia. In reality, he wants to leave Coruscant as soon as possible, because his true goal - the capture of the plans - has been accomplished. Now Durga can build a Hutt-controllable superweapon that could use the superlaser to extort planetary systems for protection money.

In the meantime, the first Jedi from Luke's Jedi Praxeum have also completed their training, so that from now on they can act independently in the galaxy as Jedi Knights. Along with Kyp Durron, Dorsk 81 leaves Yavin IV for his homeworld of Khomm. But instead of settling on his homeland, Dorsk 81 decides to join Kyp in flying to the Core Worlds and spying on the remaining warlords. Meanwhile, Luke and Callista travel to every planet where Luke once felt the power. Hoping to regain Callista's Force abilities, the two visit Dagobah and Hoth. Though Callista can receive the Force on Dagobah, Luke fears bad things after seeing the dark side within her when they were attacked by some strange flying creatures. Eventually, on Hoth, the two are caught in an attack by rampaging pack of wampas, severely damaging their ship. Among them is the same wampa that once captured Luke several years ago. Callista and Luke escape back into space with their badly damaged ship and make an emergency call.

Admiral Daala, who narrowly survived the latest attack in the Maw Center, has been searching for remaining warlords to join forces with ever since. She met the Imperial tactician, Blizter Harrsk, who had ordered her to attack the fortress of his competitor, Treuten Teradoc. Rather than carry out the order and fuel the rivalry between the two warlords, Daala decides to pit the two against each other and force them to meet together. So it comes to a gathering of many quarreling Imperial followers, who listen to Daala's plans. As predicted for Daala, she fails to reach an agreement. Nevertheless, she was able to convince Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. In a bid to end the Empire's inner turmoil, Daala kills the rebel warlords with poisonous gas and takes command of the Imperial forces alongside Pellaeon. Additionally, Daala comes into possession of a new Super Star Destroyer, the Night Hammer.

Leia, meanwhile, has decided to accept Durga's invitation and travel to Nal Hutta to continue the negotiations, even though she already suspects that Durga is of little interest in the negotiations. Rather, she wants to know what the Hutt is up to. She is accompanied by her husband Han Solo and the protocol droid C-3PO. She is also accompanied by a large fleet, which is officially conducting some maneuvers under the command of Admiral Ackbar and Wedge Antilles. However, they are intended to provide a distraction and unsettle the Hutts. Also among the crew is General Crix Madine, head of the undercover operations department. Madine manages to attach a tracking device to Durga's ship on Nar Shaddaa. Durga receives the New Republic diplomats, but is soon forced to apologize again. He retreats to the Hoth asteroid field, where Bevel Lemelisk is building the new Death Star with the help of the Imperial Sulamar and the Taurill Overmind. However, the model has been modified so that it is only the actual superlaser. Similar to an oversized lightsaber, the weapon is called Darksaber. Madine and his two companions discover the weapon and board it. After Korenn died on approach, Trandia sacrifices herself in an act of sabotage. Left alone, Madine is quickly caught and executed by Durga. Before he died, Madine was able to send a distress signal to the New Republic Space Navy and summon help.

Kyp and Dorsk 81, scouring the core worlds for Imperials, discover that Admiral Daala is planning an attack on Yavin IV in order to wipe out the Jedi Academy there. The two immediately send a distress signal to the New Republic fleet to ward off the approaching threat. While Wedge Antilles steers his fleet toward the Hoth system to thwart Durga's Darksaber project, General Ackbar dispatches his fleet to Yavin IV at the Jedi Academy. Leia and Han set off in the Millennium Falcon to rescue Luke and Callista from their perilous position. They then fly to Yavin IV to defend the academy, where Dorsk 81, risking his life, manages to repel the first wave of the attack, 17 Star Destroyers, using the Force.

When Durga flees through the asteroid field with the Darksaber after the fleet arrives, his ship crashes into an asteroid after the weapon's superlaser failed. Durga and Sulamar die, but their accomplice Lemelisk escapes and is captured by the Alliance. In the Battle of Yavin IV, Callista managed to sneak aboard Daala's flagship, renamed the Knight Hammer, and damaged the ship. Disabled, it crashes into the gas giant Yavin. After the battle comes to an end, Luke fears that Callista was killed in the operation. Shortly thereafter, Luke receives a message from Callista, in which she tells him not to return to him. The Imperials, including Daala and Pellaeon, also managed to escape, but shortly thereafter Daala announced her retirement from active service and gave Pellaeon sole command of the rest of the Empire.

Voice cast

 * as
 * as
 * as
 * as
 * as
 * as Jaina Solo
 * as Anakin Solo
 * as Callista Ming
 * as Kyp Durron
 * as Dorsk 81
 * as
 * as
 * as Durga the Hutt
 * as Bevel Lemelisk
 * as Sulamar
 * as Maizor
 * as
 * as
 * as Crix Madine
 * as Winter
 * as Admiral Daala
 * as Gilad Pellaeon
 * as Blitzer Harrsk
 * as Treuten Teradoc
 * as Trandia
 * as Korenn
 * as Taurill Overmind