Star Wars villains don’t come more iconic than the dastardly Sith, but there’s a lot you might not know about what they are.
Despite their obvious importance to the franchise, much of the Sith’s backstory is only hinted at during their appearances on the big and small screens. That’s why we’ve pulled together this handy explainer, to help bring more casual fans of a galaxy far, far way up to speed on what a Sith is in the Star Wars canon.
What is a Sith in the Star Wars Universe?
Before we go any further, we need to flag that Lucasfilm hit the reset button on wider Star Wars continuity after Disney bought the studio back in 2012. This relegated most of the novels, comics, video games, and TV shows that made up the franchise’s Expanded Universe to non-canonical “Star Wars Legends” status – including a decent chunk of what we knew about the Sith. As such, this article will only cover the Sith’s depiction in the revised, post-Disney canon to avoid confusion.
Okay, so: the Sith – what are they? The Sith are an ancient order of Force-users that broke away from the Jedi Knights thousands of years prior to the events of the Star Wars movies. Unlike the Jedi, the Sith draw upon the Dark Side of the Force, using its destructive power to further their aim of galactic conquest. That’s bad news for pretty much everyone else, as the anger, hatred, ruthlessness, and cruelty that the Sith’s mastery of the Dark Side demands is reflected in their brutal approach to governance.
It’s also given rise to the Sith Order’s deserved reputation as a devious bunch who rely on scheming and deception to achieve their goals as much as the Dark Side itself. Their cunning and patience paid off at various points throughout the Star Wars timeline, and the Sith actually gained control of the galaxy at least twice. The first time, they ruled openly over 1,000 years before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, while the second time, they were the true power behind the Galactic Empire that reigned during the original Star Wars trilogy.
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That said, the Sith Order’s self-centered, power-hungry philosophy also has a tendency to blow up in its members’ faces – mostly because of all the in-fighting. Feuding between various dark lords and sects is the reason why the Sith’s first stint as galactic overlords ended, as it left their empire crumbling from within, and vulnerable to attack from without. Sensing their sworn enemies’ weakness, the Jedi swooped in and wiped out (almost) all of the Sith, setting them back an entire millennium.
Heck, even after legendary Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Bane instituted the Rule of Two – capping the Sith Order’s ranks to one master and one apprentice at any given time – the backstabbing and plotting continued. Pupils would murder their teachers to get ahead, while teachers would pit current and prospective students against each other. The rival efforts of Darth Vader and Darth Sidious to recruit Luke Skywalker to the Sith fold in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi are a great example of this – and another scenario where the Sith Order’s innate culture of skullduggery proved its undoing.
Yet for all their machinations and out-and-out villainy, the Sith aren’t without their admirers. Notably, the Sith Eternal is a cult of non-Force-users that worships both the Sith and the Dark Side itself. These creepy zealots’ most prominent appearance to date is in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in which they play a key role in Darth Sidious’ return and get their chant on during the film’s climactic showdown.
How Can You Spot a Sith Lord in Star Wars Movies and TV Shows?
In terms of how you spot a Sith, their preference for dark robes and capes usually makes them stand out from the crowd. Sith Lords’ red-bladed lightsabers – created by using the Dark Side to corrupt a dead Jedi’s stolen saber crystal, a ritual known as “bleeding” – are a pretty good tell, too. Even so, black attire and laser sword color aren’t always a reliable indicator that you have a Sith on your hands. Not even red-and-yellow eyes are a foolproof guide since not all Sith’s peepers take on this demonic look.
So instead of relying on visual cues, you’re better off listening out for the title “Darth” (which equates to “dark lord”) whenever a sinister-seeming Star Wars character enters the frame. The vast majority of Sith Lords adopt this prefix paired with an alias that serves as their Sith name, clearly identifying them as a member of the Sith Order. This naming convention applies to every Sith who has been featured directly or indirectly in a Star Wars movie and TV show to date, including:
- Darth Bane
- Darth Plagueis
- Darth Sidious (a.k.a Emperor Palpatine)
- Darth Maul
- Darth Tyranus (a.k.a. Count Dooku)
- Darth Vader (a.k.a Anakin Skywalker)
Are All Dark Side Users Sith Lords?
At this point, you’re probably wondering if “Sith” is just another word for someone who wields the Dark Side of the Force, however, this isn’t the case. While every Sith Lord is indeed a Dark Side practitioner, not every Dark Side practitioner is a Sith. In short: you’ve got to actually be invited to join the club.
For instance, Darth Tyranus trained three apprentices – Asajj Ventress, Savage Oppress, and Quinlan Vos – none of whom was ever elevated to the status of fully-fledged Sith Lord. Similarly, the Dark Side users Darth Sidious and Darth Vader brought together to form the Jedi-hunting Inquisitorius existed separately from the Sith Order proper, despite carrying red-bladed lightsabers and dressing in black.
The same goes for the Star Wars sequel trilogy’s Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke – they both look and act the part, but they aren’t actually Sith. The former is the leader of a group known as the Knights of Ren whereas the latter’s sole affiliation is seemingly to the Galactic Empire’s successor, the First Order. While Ren and Snoke ultimately turn out to be unwitting puppets of Darth Sidious (quite literally, in Snoke’s case), the fact is that neither party knowingly identified themselves as a Sith at any time.
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Then there are the Nightsisters: an all-female coven of witches who employ Dark Side-infused magic, and who are, again, not Sith. Sure, they’ve occasionally worked with the Sith Order before – and Ahsoka partners them up with Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Imperial remnant – but the Nightsisters are very much their own operation and have also come into conflict with the Sith over the centuries, as well.
Rounding things out, you have fallen Jedi who have broken bad without being inducted into the Sith Order (even if, in some cases, they’d like to be). This includes Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ Pong Krell and Barriss Offee, and Ahsoka‘s Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati – with the latter pairing making their non-Sith, mercenary position clear through their choice of orange-hued lightsabers. Oh, and don’t forget ousted Sith Lord Darth Maul, who was unceremoniously dumped from the team after his apparent death and no longer assumes the “Darth” title in his post-Phantom Menace appearances.
So, there you have it: the Sith explained! And now that you know who and what they are, why not put this knowledge to good use with a Star Wars movie marathon? As Darth Sidious would say, “Do it!”
