"Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams has unveiled new information regarding the dark side of the force in the upcoming film.

The big news during his interview with Empire Magazine was that the main villain of the piece was in fact not a Sith Lord.

"Kylo Ren is not a Sith," stated the director himself during a chat with Empire Magazine. "He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force."

Let's break this chunk of information down. Abrams previously stated that Kylo Ren was a part of the knights of Ren, but that did not discount him as a Sith Lord. However, this confirmation might emphasize why his lightsaber is so idiosyncratic. Moreover, it all but confirms the death of Sith in the galaxy far, far away.

In the prequel Star Wars movies, the Sith were the users of the dark side of the force and always worked in the famed "rule of two." To preserve themselves, there was always a master and an apprentice. This allowed for the Sith to remain concealed from the Jedi and also allowed for their powers to be passed on from one generation to another. The apotheosis of Sith rule came at the end of "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" when Darth Sidious and Darth Vader wiped out the Jedi and established the Galactic empire. However by the end of the six-film saga, both were dead and the light side of the force was restored to power.

Obviously the dark side is back, and Ren is an exponent of it. Snoke of course remains the interesting mystery as he has yet to be revealed and many believe he could very well be Darth Plagueis, a Sith Lord who was reportedly killed by Sidious.

The fact that Abrams stated that Snoke was a powerful figure from the dark side could hint that he is in fact the only remaining Sith Lord.

Now on to the next bit of info revealed by Abrams from the same interview. This time he explains what the First Order is.

"That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?'" Abrams revealed.

"What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn't get done?"

In essence, this all but confirms that the First Order is an extension of the Empire, something that was probably already assumed based on the stormtroopers leading the way. It will be interesting to see the ideologies of this new group, though the Nazis reference all but ensures that this will be a side of pure evil with none of the ambiguity that permeated the prequel films. While those movies tended to be ambivalent about which side was the good and evil, the original movies were rather clear on the distinction. It seems that the sequels (unsurprisingly) will continue along the path set out by Episodes IV-VI.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens on Dec. 18.