Our next Star Wars Character Spotlight takes a look at Oppo Rancisis, a male Thisspasian Jedi Master who sat on the Jedi Council during the events of the prequel trilogy. Though he can often be spotted throughout those films and in The Clone Wars, he never speaks. His fate is surprisingly up in the air for what is essentially a background character.
The royal Jedi
Oppo Rancisis has been alive for centuries. Though we don’t know exactly what year, it would seem he was born well before the High Republic era, or perhaps at the very beginning of it (the era, not the publishing initiative).
According to the Join the Battle roleplaying game sourcebook, the Force Collection card game and the The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia, Rancisis was of royal heritage on his homeworld of Thisspias. Despite being heir to the throne of the Blood Monarchy, he joined the Jedi Order when he was an infant. Apparently he was offered the throne when he was older, but rejected it and chose to continue as a Jedi under the tutelage of Yaddle.
High Republic
Oppo Rancisis’ earliest appearance is in the audio drama Tempest Runner, in which he and his padawan rescued a group of slaves, including a Twi’lek named Lourna Dee. Dee won Oppo’s respect after he saw her put her life on the line for the other slaves. He suggested that she join the Carida Military Academy, where she would learn the skills she needed to start a career helping people in need.
Dee agreed and Rancisis checked up on her every now and then, but she eventually left the academy and the two of them never spoke again. Sadly, Dee went on to become a high-ranking member of the Nihil.
By the time of Light of the Jedi, the first book in the High Republic publishing initiative set in 232 BBY, Oppo Rancisis was a member of the Jedi Council. When Chancellor Lina Soh met with the Jedi Council, he attended the meeting via hologram as she asked the Jedi to take on the Nihil.
Though some members of the council disapproved of taking military action, Oppo pointed out that the Jedi had acted as a military force in the past (a worrying hint as to how the Jedi would be pulled into the Clone Wars 200 years later). Ultimately, the council voted in favor of joining the conflict against the Nihil.
Oppo Rancisis next makes an appearance of sorts in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. He is not seen in the game, but a Force echo absorbed by Cal Kestis places him on Tanalorr, an isolated world strong in the Force. He was one of a number of Jedi Masters invited by Dagan Gera to decide if the Jedi should have a stronger presence on the remote planet, after a Jedi Temple had already been built there.
His visit was interrupted when the Nihil arrived and attacked the Jedi outpost. Rancisis ordered the Jedi to fall back to the temple. The outcome of the battle has never been confirmed, but it seems that it didn’t go well and directly resulted in the Jedi’s decision to close the temple on Tanalorr entirely.
Oppo Rancisis appears sporadically throughout the rest of the stories covering the Nihil, but plays a pretty minor role.
The Living Force
In The Living Force novel set 10 years before The Phantom Menace, Oppo Rancisis journeys to the planet Kwenn along with the rest of the Jedi Council to organize a celebration of the Jedi Temple there. Rancisis had a personal connection to the outpost, as he opened it himself hundreds of years earlier. He spent most of his time inside the temple cleaning and organizing the place before the big celebration.
Meeting Anakin Skywalker and serving in the Clone Wars
Oppo Rancisis first appears in The Phantom Menace, but he has no lines in his Jedi Council scenes with Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Anakin. According to the Force Collection card game, Rancisis thought Skywalker was a threat to the order.
He appears again in Attack of the Clones and can be seen when the Jedi Council is brought news of the clone army from Obi-Wan. Once again, he does not speak and he is not present at the Battle of Geonosis.
According to the Rise of the Separatists roleplaying game, Oppo Rancisis was selected as the Jedi Council’s representative at Republic High Command meetings during the Clone Wars. He operated as a key military advisor and served as a general, like all other Jedi Masters.
He appears in the Mace Windu comic miniseries set early on in the war, when the council decides to send Windu and Kit Fisto to Hissrich along with Master Prosset Dibs to recon the Separatist threat on the planet.
Strangely, Oppo Rancisis doesn’t appear in The Clone Wars animated series until its sixth season, when he can be seen on the council as they discuss the queen of Bardotta’s request to be accompanied by Jar Jar Binks on a mission.
He pops up again later that season when Obi-Wan and Anakin reveal that Count Dooku was behind the creation of the clone army, agreeing with the council that the revelation must be kept secret.
Finally, when Yoda started hearing the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn from beyond the grave, Rancisis discussed what to do with his fellow masters and meditated on the matter with them. He is seen talking with Obi-Wan, Luminara Unduli and Aayla Secura, but his voice cannot be heard.
That’s it for his animated appearances. He makes a cameo in the Dark Disciple novel in scenes with the Jedi Council, and again in the Yoda comic series as they respond to reports of a deadly new weapon being built by the Separatists.
Wookieepedia mentions that at the end of the war, Oppo Rancisis was part of the Siege of Saleucami with Quinlan Vos, but it’s unclear where the source comes from as he does not appear in Revenge of the Sith. This story originally comes from Legends continuity, but it appears that the only thing that carried over to current canon is that he was on the planet, if it is canon at all.
Order 66
It’s been revealed that Oppo Rancisis was one of the few Jedi Masters to survive Order 66. We know nothing of what happened to him during the Jedi Purge, but it was revealed in the Darth Vader comic’s 2017 run that the Jedi Master was still unaccounted for, having gone into hiding at the end of the war.
The Empire kept a list of notable Jedi who they considered to be still alive, and his name was on it. He has not been mentioned since, but presumably he is still out there.
What next?
Theoretically, Oppo Rancisis could appear in any Star Wars story set after Revenge of the Sith. He could have made an appearance in the Kylo Ren: Legacy of Vader comic when Ren hunted down an old Jedi, but for some reason a brand new character was chosen rather than the Thisspasian. Legends continuity offers us no hints as to where his story might go, as he was killed in the Siege of Saleucami months before Order 66 was issued.
Perhaps he could appear in the Maul: Shadow Lord animated series, set a year after Order 66. If he died at the hands of Maul, it’s possible that the Empire would never know about it and wouldn’t contradict that detail in the Darth Vader comic.
Alternatively, he could always pop up in New Republic-era stories or anything post-The Rise of Skywalker, if his species’ biology allows him to live past 300 years.
More boringly, he may well get a chapter or two if the From a Certain Point of View anthology series ever decides to adapt The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.