TheStar WarsUniverse has a lot of content out there, with hundreds of hours of lore, plot, and world-building established and re-established by its texts. Unfortunately, with so much going on, there are still a ton of questions that are left unanswered or that raise further questions with their answer.
The bad guys of theStar Warsfranchise are the most consistent aspect of the narrative.The Sith are an ancestral evil groupwho also acts as the primary controlling body of The Empire. While a ton is known about the Sith, there’s much more that remains shrouded in darkness.
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The first representative of the Sith fans ever laid eyes upon wasDarth Vader, who is fullyencased in a suit of black armor for the entirety of the originalStar Warsfilm. Fans didn’t get to see his face or any significant traits for almost all three of the first films of his existence. They could have imagined any appearance under that vaguely human-shaped suit, and any face delivering James Earl Jones' iconic voice. The first Sith whose face fans got to see wasVader’s master, Darth Sidious. He first appeared in 1980’sThe Empire Strikes Back, where he instructs Vader through a hologram. His appearance was intensely unpleasant, and only slightly improved by his full debut in the third movie. Beyond his distinct ancient appearance and undead features, one of the most distinctive traits of the character is his eyes: a black pupil ringed with a sickly yellow, which gives way to vibrant red at the edges of his irises. This set a precedent for future Sith in the franchise, which was only occasionally followed.
When the prequels finally came around,Darth Maul made his first appearance. Maul is an alien whose species hadn’t appeared in the franchise before his debut. Without many lines of dialogue or any backstory, there isn’t much to say about Maul, but he shares Sidious' eye color. Fans could have assumed that this was a quirk of his species, but unusual eye color does seem to be a part of the Sith alliance. When Count Dooku appeared, his eyes remained brown, even as he performed evil deeds. It didn’t really become a pattern until Anakin completed his turn to the dark side.
Anakin’s eyes go back and forth over the course ofRevenge of the Sith. When he’s slaughtering separatists on Mustafar, they’re Sith yellow, but when he’sdueling with Obi-Wan, they’ve gone back to normal. Eagle-eyed viewers who slow down the footage might even notice the moment his eyes change colors as the lava destroys his body at the end of his battle with his former mentor.
This interesting detail in Anakin’s appearance raises a number of questions about Sith eyes. Vader’s eyes weren’t yellow when Luke took his helmet off the moment before his death. Further complicating matters is the laterintroduction of Kylo Ren, who keeps his brown eyes throughout his entire on-screen life. Simply joining the Sith, or even fighting or killing on their behalf, doesn’t necessarily affect one’s eye color. It appears that the catalyst for the color change must be something more internal.
The yellow eyes are a biological effect of prolonged or intense exposure to the Dark Side of the Force and the negative emotions that compel them. They seem to only take effect when someone is fully devoted to the Dark Side. Sidious is basically the Dark Side personified, so he was only able to hide his yellow irises in his governmental dealings. Count Dooku was a turned Jedi, but perhaps he never fully gave himself over to evil. Kylo Ren was always trying desperately to prove himself, but his true inner self wasn’t fully devoted. Anakin’s shifting motivations are key to thenarrative ofRevenge of the Sith, and key to understanding this physical trait of the Dark Side of the Force. When viewed through that lens, watching his eyes turn, even if it’s tough to spot, is a confirmation of what fans already knew. Only full devotion will allow the eyes of the Sith to take over.
Ultimately, the real reason why members of the Sith have yellow eyes is to visually reinforce the evil of the character.Star Warsoften uses color symbolism to illustrate who is good and who is bad; that’s why most of thegood guys wield bluelightsabers and all the bad guys use red. The reason the eye color is inconsistent is likely because the choice to give Sidious yellow eyes wasn’t originally intended to be a key aspect of his character. The one time it is extremely important is the difficult-to-catch scene at the end of Anakin’s narrative. The franchise has offered a semi-understandable explanation for this aesthetic detail, but it hardly needs one.
Star Warslikes to occasionally bring in sci-fi elements on the level ofDune, but it fits much better in the realm of science fantasy. The Sith have scary yellow eyes because of the influence of the dark side, and because it looks cool and clearly marks them as the villain. Sometimes, that’s all fans need.
