Kylo Ren isn’t a Sith, so what’s the deal with Sith Troopers in Episode IX?

Cloudy, the truth is. Today, I’d like to get to the bottom of a Star Wars mystery: Is Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, a Sith Lord?

A Sith Lord, for those unfamiliar, is a title bestowed upon masters of the dark side of the Force. Traditionally, there are only two: a master and an apprentice. Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were Sith. Darth Maul was Sith. Kylo Ren is a bad guy, basically, but is a part of this order?

Well, he commands the First Order, which is reconstituted from parts of the fallen Empire, and in the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker, he will apparently have Sith Troopers. So that’s a tip-off.

BUT. In a new book called Who’s Who in the Galaxy, published by Disney Lucasfilm Press, Kylo is very much not marked as a Sith, while some of his predecessors are:

Lucasfilm is making a big push with the Sith Troopers, with their booth at this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con heavily featuring the new designs. But just because there will be Sith Troopers in the movie doesn’t necessarily mean that Kylo Ren is a Sith. This post over at r/StarWarsLeaks from u/SorryNotSpartacus basically sums up my take on things:

"I cant believe people have to be told this.1. We heard Palpatine (A Sith) laugh in the trailer2. We’ve been told Palpatine (A SITH) has a part of unknown degree in TROS.3. Palpatine (A SITH) was known for having extravagant plans, backup plans, and fail safe plans.If the Sith Troopers are related to Palpatine at all then it would be a legit “Sith” military force.If the troopers are only related to Kylo or the [Knights of Ren] then they are Sith in name only, likely for symbolic or traditional reasons.And there could be any combination of those things and still no retcon would be needed."

There’s a second possibility for how the Sith Troopers could be named that without being full-fledged Sith: the name might have been chosen to suggest that these troopers are capable of using some Force abilities. That would put them in line with the old Inquisitorius, perhaps combining some of the stormtrooper reconditioning with Force training to make them less likely to rebel.

Even if these new troops aren’t Force-sensitive, they might have some specific abilities meant to destroy any and all Force users who oppose the First Order. (In other words, they could be a force specifically meant to target Leia and Rey.) Their name alone can strike fear into many, as well.

Then there’s Palpatine, who is a legitimate Sith. If Palpatine, who we saw die in Return of the Jedi but who will apparently be involved in Episode IX in some capacity, put the plans for these troopers into place — after all, red armor for high-tier troops is something he favored with the Emperor’s Royal Guard — then yes, the Sith Troopers have a claim to the title.

Finally, just to be clear, Kylo Ren has never been a Sith. He uses the dark side of the Force, but that does not automatically make you a Sith, as the Nightsisters and other organizations can attest. He’s never referred to as a Sith. He was Snoke’s appreciate, but Snoke very pointedly calls him “master of the Knights of Ren.”

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It might seem confusing at first glance, but if we think through it, this mystery isn’t that hard to untangle. We’ll find out more when The Rise of Skywalker premieres this December.

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