The Star Wars sequel trilogy introduced a bunch of new characters and concepts, and among the new additions in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker were the Sith troopers – but why do they have “Sith” in their name despite not having such sensitivity towards that side of the Force? The history of the Star Wars saga is divided into three: the original trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, the prequels that arrived between 1999 and 2005, and the sequel trilogy, brought by Disney between 2015 and 2019. Each one introduced different characters, events, concepts, and more, but the ones brought by the sequels turned out to be a bit controversial.
Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, the Mouse House started working on a new wave of Star Wars movies, resulting in the widely criticized sequel trilogy, formed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The latter not only closed the new trilogy but also the Skywalker saga, and it arrived with a bunch of new elements to add to the wide Star Wars mythology, including a new type of stormtroopers who wore a similar armor to that of the First Order stormtroopers but in red, and were called Sith troopers, which caused a lot of confusion among fans.
Sith troopers were elite soldiers in the Sith Eternal army, created on the planet Exegol by none other than Darth Sidious/Sheev Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). The army was formed by the children of the Sith Eternal, a secret cult that had the goal of making way for the return of the Sith Order and (of course) making sure that their leader, Palpatine, wouldn’t die again, thus preserving his spirit in a cloned body. Now, as by the time the Star Wars sequels take place the Sith Order had already been defeated and the First Order weren’t Sith, the name “Sith trooper” caused a lot of confusion, more so as they aren’t Force-sensitive either, but it’s all about their ideals and the purpose for which they were created.
First off, the Sith troopers took their red color from the Sith lightsaber blades, and their name comes from the simple fact that they share the Sith cultists’ devotion to the Sith religion, and their ideas and more were inspired by the legacy and ideals of the Sith, with their basis being fear and death. Palpatine’s goal through the Sith Eternal and its army was to create an eternal reign of a new Sith Empire, thus why the troopers had to carry the name even if they didn’t have any Force-sensitivity. As Palpatine’s return and plan weren’t revealed until Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (which drew a lot of backlash as it retconned parts of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in the process), the Sith Troopers were introduced until the final chapter of the sequel trilogy, and given the defeat of Palpatine and the Sith Eternal, they didn’t stick around for long.
While the Sith troopers could have been an interesting addition to the final movies in the Skywalker saga, they ended up being just another element in the confusing return of Palpatine and the reveal of his real plans, and like many other elements from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, their purpose and more had to be explained in other media related to the movie. Whether the Sith troopers will make another appearance in other Star Wars media or not is unknown, but at least the mystery around their name was solved.