Throughout the Star Wars franchise, famous villains like Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Maul, and more have come and gone. But throughout the franchise, the general threat of the ultimate evil in the galaxy has largely remained the same. In canon, the Sith have been around for thousands of years. Although they went through a prolonged period of hiding in the shadows as the Jedi rose to power, they have still posed a threat and held a true presence in the galaxy. In the Skywalker Saga films, the Sith are the villains the whole way through. Even the sequel trilogy, which appeared to be moving away from the Sith in its first two films, eventually brought back Emperor Palpatine.
In The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine lurks on the shadowy world of Exegol, located in the unknown regions of the galaxy. The heroes learn that Exegol is the hidden world of the Sith, and plays a huge role in the history of these villains. There are even many Sith loyalists that live on the planet and dedicated their lives to helping Palpatine regain to full power. Clearly, Exegol has a big place in the history of the Sith, but it’s not the only planet known as a Sith home world. Korriban is another world in the Star Wars galaxy that has been home to many iconic Sith Lords. This has led to questions as to which world holds the greater significance for these villains, and the differences between the two.
Korriban, which is also called Moraband in certain stories (mainly during the Clone Wars era), was developed first in the franchise’s canon. Korriban first appeared in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, and played a big role in the story. As the Sith existed in larger numbers at that point in the timeline, many of these villains lived on Korriban and called it their home. They all flocked to the planet as it was said to hold immense power in the dark side of the Force, and they wanted to tap into that in order to make themselves even stronger.
One of the most famous Sith Lords to never officially appear in live action is Darth Bane, and Korriban is the planet where he was buried in canon. Bane was the Sith Lord who insisted that they narrow the focus down and create the Rule of Two, which prevents more than a couple of Sith from existing at one time. This was done in order to prevent the power struggle that was constantly plaguing the Sith, as they all had aspirations of becoming the leader of and gaining the most power. The Rule of Two went on to completely transform the Sith, allowing them to hide in the shadows during the time of the Jedi’s peak and plan their ultimate revenge. It was this plot that Emperor Palpatine eventually enacted during the prequel trilogy.
As Exegol was only introduced into canon in 2019, it doesn’t quite have the same history as Korriban. It is, however, implied that Exegol holds just as much as, if not an even greater significance to the Sith than Korriban. It's often implied that there are plenty of secrets that are yet to be uncovered about the planet. However, Emperor Palpatine made it his base during the reign of the Galactic Empire and his recovery after his dictatorship’s fall, and it's also the birthplace of Supreme Leader Snoke. Both of these facts mean that its significance is already known in some form, at least as it pertains to the stories already told in the franchise. Essentially, while Korriban was hugely important to the story of Darth Bane and other Sith in the past, Exegol holds the same sort of significance for some of the modern dark side Force users.
Interestingly, Exegol is not a naturally dark planet. Rather, it was altered to become this way when the Sith conquered the world and made it their home, which sets it apart from other worlds like Korriban. This was hinted at in The Rise of Skywalker, when the sky began to clear up and the lightning stopped once Palpatine was defeated once and for all. That is another key difference between the two Sith planets of Exegol and Korriban.
The Sith have always played a huge role in a galaxy far, far away. However, it appears unlikely at this stage that the Sith will return for Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order movie, set fifteen years after the sequel trilogy. With Palpatine’s defeat on Exegol, Rey and the others might have to face less familiar villains as the franchise expands and continues after the events of the Skywalker Saga. That film doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it’s suspected that it will take one of the two 2026 slots on the calendar reserved for Star Wars movies.