'Star Wars IX': Huge Leak Reveals Unexpected Sith Troopers-Palpatine Link

Ever since we learned about the Sith Troopers back in July, we’ve been trying to figure out how they fit into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Are they Kylo Ren’s new personal army? The Emperor’s secret weapon? Now, a huge new leak may blow the entire thing wide open, revealing not only what the Sith Troopers are up to, but also much of the plot of Episode IX — and it might just solve a long-running Star Wars mystery too.

Warning! Death Star-sized spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ahead.

There’s a thing in Star Wars called the “unknown regions.” Basically, it’s the murky edges of the galaxy that we know nothing about, but in The Rise of Skywalker we could finally learn what’s been hiding out there: and it’s bad news for the good guys.

A report from Making Star Wars, which is pretty reliable when it comes to Star Wars scoops, reveals that the Sith Troopers have been hiding on a Star Destroyer out in the “unknown regions” ever since the Emperor died at the end of Episode VI. MSW describes the region as “hellish” and “not entirely stable,” which explains how the Sith Fleet managed to float out there for 30 years totally undetected.

So the first big takeaway here is that the Sith Troopers won’t be created by Kylo or the First Order for Episode IX. They’ve been around for way longer, and their allegiance bends towards the Emperor.

That’s where that rumored MacGuffin comes in. It’s called the Wayfinder device, and it’s a tool Kylo seeks out to take control of the Sith Troopers (that’s also apparently where the Oracle comes in). However, Kylo’s plan backfires when a resurrected Palpatine decides not to share his army.

This is already a lot to process, I know, but the real kicker is that the Sith Trooper’s Star Destroyer is equipped with “planet destroying weapons” similar to the Death Star. Oh, and also they have Red TIE Fighters that they can eject out of with jet packs.

“These guys are not cowards with armor like our heroes are used to dealing with,” MSW notes.

So, in case you need a too long didn’t read recap, here’s what we learned:

• The Sith Troopers have been out in the “unknown regions” for 30 years

• The Sith Troopers have Death Star technology

• Kylo Ren will spend at least some of the movie trying to retrieve them

• That plan will backfire and the Emperor will take control of his fleet

What we don’t know is how the Sith Troopers survived all that time, but hopefully, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will take the time to explain what it takes to get by in one of the most dangerous and mysterious parts of the galaxy. Because as excited as we are to see Kylo and the Emperor face off on the big screen, we really just want to know what’s up with the unknown region.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20.