the word "sith" was first used in the 1974 rough draft of star wars with the first published use being the 1976 novelization of "star wars" as a title for the key villain darth vader, the "dark lord of the sith." sith characters had also been named in some star wars "legends" works prior to the release of "", and in archived footage for the original "star wars". prior to the formal introduction of the sith, the term "dark jedi" was sometimes used for characters who would be later identified as sith, or had goals and practices similar to the sith. in his novel series "the thrawn trilogy", author timothy zahn labeled sith lord darth vader and emperor palpatine as "dark jedi," and the term "sith" was never mentioned in the series until later reprints of the novels. "dark jedi" is also the name given in the "star wars" universe to antihero fictional characters attuned to the force and adept in its dark side. however, the concept of "dark jedi" is not referenced anywhere in any of the nine "star wars" films, and they exist by that name only in the star wars "legends" non-canonical media, including video games such as "" and the "" series. they were not mentioned by name in canonical stories, until the prequel trilogy used the word on film starting with 1999's "the phantom menace".