A stormtrooper is a fictional soldier in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in Star Wars (1977), the stormtroopers are the elite shock troops/space marines of the Galactic Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine and his commanders, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, during the original film trilogy (1977–1983). The prequel trilogy (1999–2005) establishes their origin as the Galactic Republic's clone troopers, clones of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, used by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to "win" the Clone Wars and later to take over the government and exterminate the Jedi. Despite this, later stormtroopers are established as recruits; at the time of the original trilogy, only a few stormtroopers are clones, with the only known legion to still contain a significant number of clones being the 501st Legion, aka "Vader's Fist". In the sequel trilogy (2015–2019), the upgraded stormtroopers serve the First Order under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and his commanders, most notably Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma. The final film of the trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker (2019), introduces Sith Troopers, an upgraded variant of the First Order stormtroopers that sport red armor and serve the Final Order, led by a resurrected Emperor Palpatine.

The order of battle of the Stormtrooper Corps is unspecified in the Star Wars universe. Accompanying the Imperial Navy, stormtroopers are able to be deployed swiftly and respond to states of civil unrest or insurrection, act as a planetary garrison, and police areas within the Galactic Empire. They are shown in collective groups of varying organizational sizes ranging from squads to legions and for some, their armor and training are modified for special operations and environments.

Stormtroopers' designs were intended to look "terrifying, but also supercool, super clean", with the helmets being "very stylized skulls".[1] In early drafts of Star Wars and Ralph McQuarrie's concept designs, stormtroopers were to wield lightsabers and hand-held shields as common weapons not limited to the Jedi or Sith. George Lucas, when composing background information in 1977, stated that females did exist in the Stormtrooper Corps, although there were few stationed on the Death Star. He suggested that there were numerous in other units.[2][3]