The Knights of Ren are fearsome followers of the dark side of the Force in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but unlike the Sith, none of them use lightsabers. Until the revelation of a revived Darth Sidious in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the sequel trilogy looked to be completely devoid of Sith, after Luke Skywalker defeated the Emperor and redeemed Darth Vader at the Battle of Endor. In their stead is Kylo Ren, who (under the influence of the mysterious Snoke) follows the ways of the dark side, but without a meaningful tie to any tradition beyond his own lineage. While Snoke is later discovered to be a pawn of Sidious, the Sith's discernible influence on the sequels is comparatively minor.

Introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Knights of Ren are dark side marauders who emerged in the era of the New Republic, claiming to be the rightful owners of the mythical name that had existed for centuries. After abandoning the Jedi path and joining the Knights, Ben Solo killed their leader, Ren, assuming control and adopting the moniker of Kylo Ren. The Knights served as the personal muscle of their new leader, working in parallel to the First Order, but remaining secretly loyal to Darth Sidious - as becomes apparent when they fight (and are slain by) the rechristened Ben Solo in the Sith Citadel on Exegol.

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Apart from Kylo Ren and the late Ren, none of the Knights of Ren wielded a lightsaber. This was evident in Kylo's fight with the Knights of Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. Served by a Sith armorer named Albrekh, the remaining Knights maintained an arsenal of other weapons, both ranged and melee, all uniquely specialized far beyond what would be available to the average bandit. The knowledge of lightsabers was never far from their minds, however, as their original leader, Ren, used his red-bladed saber, and lightsabers in general, as a metaphor for the aggressive philosophy of "the Ren" that he believed should guide his followers, although this apparently did not extend to their actual equipment.

The Knights of Ren as seein in the Star Wars Comic

While the Knights of Ren were all Force-sensitive and vehemently refused admission to anyone who was not, they were not as in tune with the Force as the Jedi or the Sith, and lacked any formal training. It has been noted that a strong connection to the Force is immensely helpful in wielding a lightsaber, and perhaps the Knights fell short of that threshold, making the use of the weapon unnecessarily risky for them. Luke Skywalker's disparaging remarks about their combat abilities following a battle with the group would support this supposition. More charitably, it is possible that, due to the pseudo-sacredness ascribed to the lightsaber by Ren's philosophy, the Knights' abstention from using them was a form of reverence.

Although the lack of lightsabers among the Knights of Ren is not clearly explained, it does serve a few purposes within the films. In their brief appearances, it puts more visual emphasis on Kylo Ren, whose unique lightsaber appropriately identifies him as their leader. It also fits with some of the themes of the sequel trilogy, which shows people in the era of the New Republic being disconnected from the ways of the past, with a search for proper reconnection being a part of multiple protagonists' arcs, especially in The Rise of Skywalker. And aesthetically speaking, the primal aspects of the weapons that they do wield make the Knights of Ren novelly threatening in a way that the familiar lightsaber might not have.

Next: Star Wars: All 7 Lightsaber Combat Forms Explained (& Who Used Which)