Comic-Con Exhibit Sheds More Light on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Sith Troopers

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker won’t hit theaters for a while, but San Diego Comic-Con already brought a pretty epic look at one of the film’s new elements – an all-red Sith Trooper. In addition to quite a lot of Sith Trooper merchandise, Star Wars also brought a Stormtrooper exhibit to SDCC, which provided a bit more detail about the mysterious soldiers.

A plaque alongside the Sith Trooper costume hinted at the group being inspired by one of the darkest corners of Star Wars history (as if that wasn’t already obvious), with an inscription that you can check out below:

“In its ultimate push towards galactic conquest, the First Order readies an army of elite soldiers that draw inspiration and power from a dark and ancient legacy.”

Additionally, the exhibit screened a video titled “The Evolution of the Stormtrooper”, in which The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams spoke about how the new trooper was designed.

“In The Rise of Skywalker, we have new troopers that are completely different in design.” Abrams revealed. “The materials, the color, the lines…there is something about the aesthetic of it that just felt absolutely right. I cannot wait for people to see the work that everyone’s done.”

The connection that the Sith Troopers have to the overall Star Wars lore is certainly interesting, especially coupled with Emperor Palpatine’s iconic laugh at the end of The Rise of Skywalker‘s first trailer.

“This has been in the blueprint for a long time,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy shared in April. “We had not landed on exactly how we might do that, but yes.”

“Working with Ian was among one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had. He is like a breathtakingly good actor,” The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams revealed. “I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun for audiences.”

“Like everybody else, I had no idea what the title was,” McDiarmid explained shortly after the trailer was released. “They did let me into a secret that the Emperor might be laughing, but I have to tell you that that particular laugh was not specially recorded, they found it somewhere, probably from one of the movies or the digital vault or maybe George’s iPhone, I don’t know.”

“What I liked about it, though, that’s why I think it is a real tease, I mean, the new title, [The Rise of Skywalker] is wonderful, and then, from the past, maybe from Hell, a laugh that comes,” McDiarmid added. “Which sort of implies, ‘Yeah, right.’ In other words, ‘Skywalkers? Rising? I don’t think so.’”

Are you excited to see the Sith Troopers factor into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will arrive in theaters on December 20th.