Sith Stalker Armor in ‘Andor’ Explained: Is Starkiller Canon?

Andor is one of the most popular Star Wars series today as it brought a more serious and darker tone to the Star Wars galaxy. As successful as the first season was, some fans quickly noticed smaller details in the series. One such detail was the Sith Stalker armor that could be seen in episode six of the first season. So, what is the Sith Stalker armor in Andor, and why is it there?

The Sith Stalker armor is a kind of armor that was grafted to the wearer years ago when the wars between the Jedi and the Sith were prevalent. This armor appeared in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as an unlockable armor that Galen Marek can wear in the game.

The fact that the armor appeared in Andor gave Galen Marek fans hope that this video game character could eventually become canon in the post-Disney acquisition of the Star Wars IP. But the fact that the armor made a cameo in Andor isn’t entirely indicative of the possibility that Starkiller could be a canon armor, as there are many reasons why this armor was there. Now, let’s talk more about the Sith Stalker armor in Andor.

What Is the Sith Stalker Armor?

What Star Wars fans know is that there were a lot of different Star Wars storylines well before Disney acquired Lucasfilm. Of course, while the books were great at telling stories about the Star Wars galaxy, the video games were just as great. One such video game that fans loved is Star Wars: The Forced Unleashed, which followed the journey of a young Sith apprentice named Galen Marek, who Darth Vader personally trained to try to overthrow Emperor Palpatine.

While a lot of things happened in Force Unleashed, one of the things that fans were able to find in that game was the Sith Stalker armor, which was a piece of equipment that the players could unlock if they were to follow the dark side ending of the game. And while we all know that Force Unleashed is no longer canon because the entire Star Wars timeline was changed after the Disney acquisition, the Sith Stalker armor made a surprising appearance in episode six of the Andor series.

The Sith Stalker armor could be seen in the background of one of the scenes involving Mon Mothma while she was in Luthen Rael’s shop of antiques. Of course, this surprised and increased the excitement of many fans.

Basically, the Sith Stalker armor was a type of armor that the Sith used to cybernetically graft to Sith apprentices. The armor covers the entire body, except the arms, because the user often channels the Force through their arms. Historically, the Sith forced certain apprentices to wear the Sith Stalker armor so that they would become vicious Sith assassins that were feared by both the Sith and the Jedi alike.

The reason for cybernetically grafting the armor to the wearer was to transform the dark disciple into a feared assassin with physical capabilities that were far ahead of any other Sith or Jedi due to the enhancements given by the armor. There’s also the fact that the armor also increases the negative emotions of the wearer, and we all know that the Sith thrive on negative emotions.

No one would ever want to live their entire lives wearing a cybernetic suit grafted to their body, which means that Sith assassins that wore the Sith Stalker armor were full of negative emotions.

In the Force Unleashed video game, Galen Marek, codenamed Starkiller, experienced a Force vision that saw him wearing the Sith Stalker armor while killing a Jedi. He eventually fought in a vision as this version of himself wore the Sith Stalker armor. In the game, the player can unlock and wear the Sith Stalker armor after finishing the game’s dark side ending.

Is Starkiller Canon?

Returning to what we said about Andor, some fans were excited to see that the Sith Stalker armor was in the series. We all know that Andor is canon and is a storyline that takes place a few years before the Battle of Yavin. Starkiller’s story in Force Unleashed happened a few years before the Rebellion. So, does that mean that Starkiller is now canon?

One of the things that we know about the Sith Stalker armor is that, while it may have been introduced as an unlockable piece of equipment in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, it was never exclusive to Galen “Starkiller” Marek. That’s because, according to the in-game lore of the armor, it was historically used by the Sith during the time that the Empire was still alive. That means that there were other members of the Sith Order that used the Sith Stalker armor during the different wars that the Sith waged against the Republic and the Jedi.

We know that Luthen Rael is a collector of antiques and is someone who hides under the façade that sold antique items to Mon Mothma, who often bought expensive antique items for her husband as a cover for her meetings with Luthen Rael whenever they wanted to discuss the things that the Rebels were doing.

So, considering that Luthen is a collector, it isn’t surprising that he has a Sith Stalker armor in his collection, as it was clearly established that this armor was used by the Sith thousands of years ago before the Jedi thought that the Sith Order went extinct. And because Luthen collects antique items, it is possible that this Sith Stalker armor in his collection is not the same one that Starkiller can wear in Force Unleashed, as the one that Rael has may be thousands of years old already.

As such, it is possible that the Andor TV series is introducing into the canon only the Sith Stalker armor instead of Starkiller. We know that the Star Wars universe is now diving deeper and deeper into the lore of this vast galaxy, as there’s a good chance that a storyline that takes place in the Old Republic will eventually be released. After all, a movie about the origins of the Jedi will be released in the coming years, and that means that it isn’t too far off that an Old Republic storyline will eventually make its way to our screens.

That means that there’s a good chance that the appearance of the Sith Stalker armor in Andor is a precursor to the possible introduction of Sith assassins that existed thousands of years ago during the time of the Old Republic. As such, it is unlikely that the armor is proof that Starkiller is canon.