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The Sith Troopers are supporting antagonists in The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. They are a variant of the First Order Stormtroopers and considered to be next generation stormtroopers for the First Order named directly after the Sith Order itself and draw their inspiration from the teachings and legacy of the dark order of Force users. They wear specialized red-colored Stormtrooper armor and carry ST-W48 blaster rifles and are the soldiers for the Sith Eternal.
The Sith Troopers first emerged following the assassination of Supreme Leader Snoke by his apprentice, Kylo Ren, who took over the First Order. Darth Sidious took direct control of all Sith forces and they allied with the First Order after Kylo Ren contacted the resurrected Sith Emperor. Sith Troopers originated from Exegol, a dark world of the Sith located in the Unknown Regions.
History[]
The history of the Sith Troopers is largely unknown, but they trace their origins to history after the end of the Galactic Civil War in 5 ABY where the surviving remnants of the defeated Galactic Empire fled deep into the Unknown Regions to avoid prosecution and punishment by the New Republic. Over the years, a resurrected Darth Sidious would establish his own Sith cult known as the Sith Eternal and would be based on the desolate world of Exegol. There, a new generation of professional, elite and fanatical soldiers would be bred and would become the Sith Troopers that would make up the backbone of the Sith Eternal army.
By 35 ABY, Kylo Ren made contact with Sidious and discovered the Sith Eternal and its army, that was created to attempt to impose a new Sith Empire on the galaxy and restore the Sith Order under the Emperor's leadership. After Kylo contacted the Sith Lord, the army allied with the First Order, the Sith Troopers would make their presence known and would be seen alongside regular First Order forces.
Sith Troopers would see heavy combat at the Battle of Exegol where the Resistance launched a surprise offensive meant to destroy the Sith Eternal's fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, and prevent them from conquering the known galaxy. During the battle, Finn, Jannah, and other Resistance troops boarded the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Steadfast, the flagship of Allegient General Pryde, and Sith Troopers were deployed to defend the Sith fleet’s command ship against the Resistance soldiers. Despite their best efforts and nearly winning the battle, the Resistance was saved when the Citizens' Fleet had arrived and subsequently saved the Resistance by aiding them in destroying the Sith Star Destroyers.
By the time, Sidious was finally killed by Rey for good, the Steadfast was destroyed when its bridge was destroyed and the ship fell. At the end of the Battle of Exegol, most of the Sith Troopers had been killed and the Sith Eternal collapsed.
Organization[]
As part of the Sith Eternal, both Sith Troopers and Sith Jet Troopers were organized into legions each composing of around 5,000 men. Each legion and battalion was named after an ancient Sith Lord whose name and significance was known only to the cultists of the Sith Eternal. In addition to having their units named after ancient Lords of the Sith, the Sith Troopers also observed the dark practices and traditions of the Sith and followed their ancient customs. A variant of the Sith Troopers exist known as the Sith Jet Trooper which are aerial infantry versions of the standard Sith Troopers. Other formations existed including battalions such as the 105th Battalion of Sith Troopers and Sith Jet Troopers.
Notable Legions[]
- 3rd "Revan" Legion
- 5th "Andeddu" Legion
- 17th "Tanis" Legion
- 26th "Tenebrous" Legion
- 39th "Phobos" Legion
- 44th "Desolous" Legion
Other Formations[]
- 105th Battalion
- Lanroak Squad
- Parang Squad
- Warblade Squad
Trivia[]
- The majority of the Sith Trooper legions are named after Sith Lords that originated from material now part of the Legends contiuity. The names of said legions were revealed in the The Rise of Skwalker Visual Dictionary which canonized many Legends Sith Lords.
- Darth Tanis of the 17th Legion is the only ancient Sith Lord to have not come from Legends and is a canon only character.
- The Sith Troopers of the sequel trilogy bear the same name as the Sith Troopers of Revan's Sith Empire in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Imperial Soldiers of the Sith Empire from Star Wars: The Old Republic.
- Though the Sith Troopers were prominently featured in merchandise, they had little screentime in the film and didn't do anything significant at all. Their lack of screentime is partly one of the reasons for which some fans have accused The Rise of Skywalker to have created characters purely for merchandising and commercial purposes while having little to no relevance in the plot.
