The Rise of Skywalker Sith Trooper Announced for SDCC 2019
Um…wow! StarWars.com has announced the arrival of the Sith Trooper! The Sith Trooper will debut in The Rise of Skywalker and will push forward the aesthetic of the iconic stormtrooper in Star Wars. Since the cackle echoed in the trailer this past April, we fans have wondered what Palpatine’s presence in The Rise of Skywalker would be and I think we just got a huge hint today.
First off, the Sith Trooper is said to be a culmination of storm trooper designs encompassing all nine-films, which further suggests The Rise of Skywalker not only finishes the sequel trilogy but also the entire saga. Archivist Madlyn Burkert suggests there may be Easter eggs for fans to find in the design of the Sith Trooper. The armor appears to be multilayered, with dark contours highlighting the deep red color associated with Sith Lords in the saga, whether it be their lightsabers or the Emperor’s guards.
Madlyn Burkert from StarWars.com:
“It has some really unique aesthetics to it,” says Madlyn Burkert, Lucasfilm archivist, who is co-producing the exhibit. “And it has some subtle ties to previous stormtrooper designs, which I think fans will enjoy discovering.”
Not only will fans get a good look at the Sith Trooper in San Diego this summer, they’ll be treated to an exhibit of stormtrooper history. The exhibit will showcase the earliest phases of design all the way to the end of the saga. Stormtroopers are arguably as iconic as Darth Vader, so it will be a testament to every design team who’ve brought them to life in the films over the past forty years!
The implications of this for Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker? Sith Troopers, with their own designation and distinct color, suggest they are set apart from every other First Order trooper. Every First Order trooper we’ve seen, with the execution of Phasma, has been a simple white and black coloration. The Cardinal, in Delilah S. Dawson’s Phasma wore red armor, but it was indistinguishable from typical stormtrooper armor other than the color. This armor is completely different and I think it suggests Palpatine will have his own contingent of elite trooper. The Black Series includes several weapons similar to Snoke’s Praetorian Guards, so we should expect them to have some close encounters with lightsabers, whether that’s Rey or Kylo Ren. Or, perhaps, Kylo Ren names this elite unit after the extinct dark side order he believes his grandfather Darth Vader was so beholden to. Whatever it the story is, I think the anticipation meter for December has just been raised several meters, as if that were possible.
You can check out the latest episode of The Star Wars Show with the curious news about this new trooper:
Head over to StarWars.com for the full article, as well as what you can expect to be seeing at SDCC 2019 concerning the Sith Troopers!
SOURCE: StarWars.com
Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.
