Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the subject of a massive feature story over at Vanity Fair, including an elaborate photoshoot by Annie Leibovitz. But the most interesting bit of news for fans may be the smaller story that accompanied it, which includes our first good look at Kylo’s Knights of Ren.
The Knights of Ren appeared in only a single scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and much of their backstory is still a mystery. Fans are left to assume they’re a band of Force-sensitive refugees from Luke Skywalker’s failed Jedi academy, now under Kylo’s thrall. Everyone thought they might have appeared in the latest trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, but that wasn’t guaranteed.
Today’s Vanity Fair story clears up the confusion, however.
“In the first trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, we see Kylo Ren mowing through the knights with his lightsaber,” says Vanity Fair. “Is this a flashback to a previous falling-out? Evidence of new dissent among the ranks? Or is it, as many hope, evidence that Kylo will turn on the bad influences in his life and join Rey in the light?”
The Knights are well-lit and completely in focus this time. They carry an assortment of oversized weapons, including a very Final Fantasy-looking sword and an arm-mounted ballistic weapon of some kind. They’re all dressed in dark, dusty gray, just like Kylo in The Last Jedi.
Other tidbits of information include the names of two new locations: the snow-dusted planet of Kijimi and the arid, rocky world of Pasaana. We also meet two new characters, the “scoundrel” Zorri Bliss (Keri Russell) and Allegiant General Pryde (Richard E. Grant).
You can read the entire feature story over at Vanity Fair.