The Knights of Ren arrive in a new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker image

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This December’s STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER will bring the decades-long journey of the Skywalker Saga to an end, which means big, perhaps final developments for characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The Sith Lord, in particular, has had a shaky history that was elaborated on in THE LAST JEDI, and his relationship with the Knights of Ren being of much discussion with fans in those online chat rooms. When it comes to the Knights, RISE is shaping up to dig into the shady figures more than either of the previous movies, and we get a look at the characters in a new image from the film.

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Empire has been dishing out some new looks at RISE over the weekend, starting with their new covers for the Star Wars issue. But the image meant to get some of the more passionate fans talking is this new one of the Knights of Ren. Like all these press images that get thrown out, there’s not a ton to go off of other than giving a hint about the Knights’ appearance. Perhaps after Ren killed Snoke in TLJ, and thus putting him in more of a leadership position, he enlisted some old pals to help keep things stable. Well, as stable as far as sustaining evil empires goes.

Take a look:

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Again, it’s hard to discern where this will take place. Yes, it looks like a few Knights standing around, but they also look a bit ancient. Their helmets are worn and even a bit dusty, and the smoke coming from the right-hand side hints that they just – *ahem* – smoked some poor soul.  We last saw a glimpse at them back in THE FORCE AWAKENS, in which they made an appearance alongside Kylo in Rey's Force-trip (at the top), hinting they would have a bigger place in the movies. But Rian Johnson's TLJ didn't get into the gang with his outing, which is just one way he took what JJ Abrams started in TFA and switched things up. Abrams spoke with Empire about returning for the third entry after sitting the second one out for Johnson to come in, saying that while he would've done the second entry differently, he will still honor what Johnson set up.

“I never found myself trying to repair anything. If I had done VIII, I would have done things differently, just as Rian would have done things differently if he had done VII. But having worked on television series, I was accustomed to creating stories and characters that then were run by other people. If you’re willing to walk away from the thing that you created and you believe it’s in trustworthy hands, you have to accept that some of the decisions being made are not gonna be the same that you would make. And if you come back into it, you have to honor what’s been done.”

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is in theaters December 20.