This video contains spoilers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
In researching the new Death Troopers from Rogue One, I came across some very interesting
information that connects them with the Death Troopers from Legends, who were literally
dead stormtroopers.
And it got me thinking: could the new Rogue One Death Troopers be zombies of another sort?
I don’t think they are actually dead under the black armor, but could they share more
with their Legends counterparts than just a name?
Most of the relevant canon information comes from the Rogue One Visual Guide.
Death Troopers were selected from stormtroopers that excelled at their training who also met
physical and ideological standards.
Physically they were the tallest, strongest soldiers.
Candidates were relocated to Scarif where they underwent advanced death trooper training.
Those that passed then endured classified medical procedures that continued to augment
their physical capabilities, making them somewhat more than human.
The resulting soldiers were stronger, faster, and more resilient.
Where things really get interesting is the origin of the name itself.
The Visual Guide states that they got their name from a rumored Imperial project that
was designed to reanimate dead flesh.
This is a direct reference to the Legends book Death Troopers and Imperial bioweapons
project I71A.
The project was based on ancient Sith alchemy and was a disease that killed and reanimated
its hosts.
The virus was a self aware hive mind of sorts with a singular goal of spreading to any and
all uninfected beings, and the experiments resulted in a star destroyer full of zombie
stormtroopers.
To reiterate, I absolutely do not think the Death Troopers are literally dead.
But I find it very interesting that the Visual Guide made this connection.
It’s possible it’s just a fun nod to Legends fans.
An acknowledgment of the original death troopers.
But what if it’s more?
The classified medical procedures that were given to the Rogue One Death Troopers could
be purely physical, but what if they were mental as well?
Remember, Death Trooper candidates were chosen not only for their physical characteristics,
but also their ideological beliefs.
Thanks to the books Servants of the Empire, we know that stormtrooper training already
involved brainwashing.
So the soldiers chosen for Death Trooper training were likely either heavily brainwashed or
already zealots for the Empire.
It’s also possible the medical procedures weren’t optional.
To jump back to Legends again, when I read about the augmentations, I immediately thought
of the Phase Zero Dark Trooper.
They were aging clone troopers that were forced to undergo cybernetic enhancements to return
them to their peak physical conditions.
In some cases only thirty percent of the clones’ original bodies were left.
Unable to cope, many of them attempted suicide, and the project was shut down.
Again that’s all Legends, but I could still absolutely see the Empire doing something
similar in canon.
It’s possible the Rogue One Death Troopers are part droid, but I’m more curious about
their mental state.
What if they were turned into a mindless hive mind of their own?
What if the Advanced Weapons group took their elite, already brainwashed stormtroopers and
took it a step further?
The medical quote unquote enhancements could have completely removed their free will and
programmed them to follow orders without question.
Having seen the film twice now, I recall two specific moments when Death Troopers were
ordered to execute people and when Krennic gave the order it was instantly carried out.
There were also occasions where their actions and movements were incredibly synchronized.
I don’t necessarily think that’s proof of psychological programming, it could simply
be the result of impeccable training, but I think it’s interesting to note.
Another excerpt from the Visual Guide credits Death Trooper gear with providing more situational
awareness of combat arenas, allies, and enemies.
But could this awareness also come from a hive mind like programming, just like the
virus they were named for?
Could that gear include technology that mentally links Death Troopers together?
And what’s with their voice boxes?
My original thought was that they simply have encrypted communications so enemies can’t
eavesdrop, but could it could also be a totally foreign or even droid language.
The Visual Guide makes no mention of it, which surprised me because it seemed very distinct
and significant in the film.
This video originally started as just a video about Death Troopers and what we know about
them, but the more I read the more odd stuff I found about them.
It’s absolutely possible they could just be slightly physically augmented, highly loyal,
but otherwise normal humans under that armor.
But I found too many strange and interesting facts to simply ignore.
So what do you guys think?
Are the Death Troopers mostly normal humans or do you think the Empire has developed something
much more nefarious?
Let me know in the comments!
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