Darth Plagueis was not the kind of Sith who scared easily. By the time of The Phantom Menace, he and Sidious had already spent years moving the galaxy exactly where they wanted it. The Jedi were distracted, the Republic was weakening, and the Sith were closer than ever to victory.
But then one Jedi found Anakin Skywalker.
And suddenly, the Sith had a problem they did not expect.
Darth Plagueis Was Terrified of the Jedi Who Found Anakin
In James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis, Plagueis realizes that Anakin Skywalker is not just another Force-sensitive child. The boy’s existence feels like something much bigger, possibly even a direct response from the Force itself.
Qui-Gon is the one who finds Anakin on Tatooine. He is the one who sees something extraordinary in him. And unlike the Jedi Council, Qui-Gon does not treat the boy as something to be feared or pushed aside. He believes Anakin should be trained.
The Sith had spent years planning around the Jedi Order’s blindness and arrogance. They knew the Council was cautious, political, and slow to act. But Qui-Gon was different. He trusted the Living Force, followed his instincts, and was willing to challenge the Council when he believed the Force was leading him somewhere.
The novel describes Plagueis slowly understanding that if Qui-Gon survives, Anakin could end up on a completely different path than the one the Sith want for him.
“He fought to repress the truth. The boy would change the course of history. Unless … Maul had to kill Qui-Gon, to keep the boy from being trained. Qui-Gon was the key to everything.”
Plagueis becomes so afraid of Qui-Gon training Anakin that he sees only one solution left: Darth Maul has to kill Qui-Gon before it can happen.
Why Qui-Gon Training Anakin Scared the Sith
For Darth Plagueis, the real fear was not Qui-Gon himself. It was what Anakin could become if the wrong Jedi trained him.
By the time of The Phantom Menace, Plagueis and Sidious had already spent decades building the Sith Grand Plan in secret. The Republic was weakening, the Jedi were slowly losing their influence, and the Sith were closer than ever to finally taking control of the galaxy after nearly a thousand years in hiding.
And suddenly, Anakin Skywalker appears.
Plagueis immediately understands that the boy is not normal. His connection to the Force is unlike anything the Sith have ever seen, and the novel makes it clear that Plagueis begins worrying that Anakin could change the future completely.
If a Jedi like Qui-Gon trained Anakin properly, the Sith risked losing everything they had spent generations building. Qui-Gon was deeply connected to the Living Force, trusted the will of the Force above politics, and truly believed Anakin was the Chosen One. From Plagueis’s perspective, that combination was dangerous.
The Sith did not fear Anakin becoming powerful. They feared Anakin becoming powerful on the Jedi’s side.