The first time ‘Star Wars’ mentioned the Sith was much later than you remember

It’s been nearly half a century since Star Wars: A New Hope was released and it’s only just recently dawned on many that a very important word in the franchise’s lore was not uttered until the prequels. Interestingly, this term was seen elsewhere through official merchandising, so it was pretty surprising to learn that it was only mentioned in the films later on.

If you’re a casual fan of the Star Wars franchise, you may be shocked to learn that the word “Sith” or “Sith Lord” was never uttered in the original trilogy. This revelation came after a fan asked on r/StarWars when the term was first mentioned. It turns out it was first said during the prequels in The Phantom Menace, not Episodes IV-VI.

But just because it was mentioned in the prequels doesn’t mean it was a new term created years after the release of Return of the Jedi. A deleted scene from A New Hope was uploaded onto YouTube six years ago, in which one of the Imperial officiers mention the term “Sith Lord” for the first time in the franchise. Fans claimed that the concept of the Sith already existed since Episode IV‘s production; it just didn’t make it into the theatrical release.

Meanwhile, others claimed that the word “Sith” appeared in other official merchandise like Topp cards in 1987, radio adaptations, and comic books. Screen Rant also pointed out how the Star Wars novels didn’t coin the term, and that it was based on George Lucas’ early scripts. So, even if “Sith” was never officially mentioned in the original trilogy, the concept already existed in Lucas’ mind and made its way to other Star Wars products. It’s such a shame that the term never made it into the earlier films. But it’s also surprising that it took the prequels for the words “Sith” and “Sith Lord” to be mentioned in the film franchise.

Star Wars Episodes IV to VI are available to stream on Disney Plus.