Marvel's new comic series Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren has officially expanded the mythology of the Force, giving the galaxy's oldest spiritual duality a fresh set of names. According to ScreenRant, the Knights of Ren now canonically call the dark side the Shadow and the light side the Shine, terms confirmed in the series' third issue, published in late October 2026.
The naming shift is more than a cosmetic change to a franchise that has generated tens of billions of dollars since George Lucas created Star Wars in 1977. It reflects how Disney and Marvel are deepening the lore of Force-wielding cultures beyond the Jedi and the Sith, whose vocabulary of light side and dark side has dominated the saga for almost five decades.
What the new names actually are
The Knights of Ren, a band of limited Force users who have survived in the galaxy for centuries, refer to the dark side as the Shadow. The term first appeared in writer Charles Soule's earlier Kylo Ren stories, but the current Fall of Kylo Ren series, with art by Will Sliney, rounds out the full picture. As ScreenRant reported, issue #3 confirms the counterpart term: the group's new leader, Tava Ren, calls the light side the Shine.
The same issue adds a third piece of vocabulary. Tava wonders whether a collector the Knights recently fought, along with his daughter, was radiant, which appears to be the Knights' word for Force-sensitive individuals.
Where the story fits in the timeline
The Fall of Kylo Ren is set between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, the second and third films of the sequel trilogy that began with the 2015 release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In the series, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren resumes command of the First Order, reunites with the Knights of Ren, and engages with Tava Ren as they confront new threats while collecting and selling Force-related artifacts tied to both the Shadow and the Shine.
The setting gives Marvel room to explore a stretch of the timeline the films largely skipped, and the new terminology is part of that world-building effort. It signals that the Knights of Ren, long portrayed as enigmatic enforcers, have their own cosmology, one distinct from the binary Jedi-Sith worldview.
Why the names fit the established lore
ScreenRant's analysis notes that the new terms align well with what the saga has long suggested about the nature of the Force. In The Empire Strikes Back, Jedi Master Yoda teaches Luke Skywalker that beings are luminous beyond the crude matter of their physical bodies, an idea that resonates directly with a name like the Shine.
The Shadow and the Shine are not the saga's first alternative names, either. Ancient traditions in the Star Wars timeline called the light and dark sides the Ashla and the Bogan. The Fallanassi speak of the White Current and the Dark Tide, while the Sorcerers of Tund refer to both aspects together as the Unity. The Knights of Ren's vocabulary joins a pattern that Lucasfilm has used for years: different cultures name the same cosmic energy differently, depending on their relationship to it.
What this means for the franchise's creative direction
The move illustrates a broader strategy under Disney, which acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in 2012. Rather than keeping every story anchored to the Jedi and the Sith, the studio has steadily widened the franchise's cultural map, from the religiously coded traditions of the official Star Wars universe's expanding roster of series to the political texture of shows like Andor.
For a franchise built on merchandising, publishing, and cross-media storytelling, vocabulary is an asset. Named concepts like the Shadow, the Shine, and the radiant travel easily across comics, animation, and streaming series, giving writers hooks for future stories and giving collectors new lore to catalog. The Knights of Ren, who survived for centuries in the galaxy's margins, now have a theology to match, and that opens creative space for stories that do not need a Skywalker at the center.
It also marks a shift in how canonical authority works. The terms were introduced not in a film or a streaming series but in a Marvel comic, a medium the franchise increasingly uses to test and expand ideas before they reach screens. Readers who follow only the movies may never encounter the Shadow and the Shine; readers who follow the comics now hold a piece of lore that could surface in future screen projects.
FAQ
What are the new names for the Force in Star Wars?
The Knights of Ren call the dark side the Shadow and the light side the Shine, according to ScreenRant's coverage of Marvel's Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren series. The word radiant appears to be their term for Force-sensitive individuals.
Where did the new names debut?
The Shadow first appeared in earlier Kylo Ren stories by writer Charles Soule. The Shine and radiant were confirmed in Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren #3, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
When is The Fall of Kylo Ren set?
The series takes place between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, following Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader of the First Order.
Are there other names for the light and dark sides?
Yes. Earlier Star Wars lore includes the Ashla and the Bogan, the Fallanassi's White Current and Dark Tide, and the Sorcerers of Tund's term for both aspects together, the Unity.