10 Details from the “Leaked” Star Wars Episode IX Poster

POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE

With barely even a glimpse into what’s happening for Star Wars: Episode IX, the internet blew up when a leak of an allegedly official poster for the movie was posted on Reddit by Reddit user e/villette just last Wednesday.

If the poster proves to be real, then this is our first look into the next and last sequel of the new trilogy. According to a post on JJ Abrams’ Instagram account, production just finished last month. So, the release of an official poster shouldn’t be too far away.

The poster itself is packed full with neat little tidbits and information for us to find. Enough that we just might be able to piece together a number of things to expect from the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX. So, for now, let’s assume that the poster is real and take a look at the details it holds.

NOTE: The leaked poster itself is really low quality on its own. So zooming in to focus on the details is gonna result in really blurry photos. Please bare with me. Thank you.

1. Rey – New Clothes, Same Lightsaber

Beginning from the most noticeable element of the poster, we see a larger-than-life Rey with a new getup. Seeming like a variation on her usual look, her new threads are the brightest we’ve ever seen her in, possibly a hint that she far from falling into the Dark Side. Or… could it be a misdirect?

Anyway, we see that Rey is again wielding Anakin Skywalker’s blue lightsaber; the same one she’s used since Episode VII. Since this lightsaber was torn in half in the last installment, we expected that by now she’d have her own saber; possibly a green double-bladed lightsaber, as many netizens have been hoping for. But if you look closely, there’s a strap in the middle that wasn’t there before. Either Rey constructed a new lightsaber using the same kyber crystal from Anakin’s lightsaber or she found a way to repair the old one with either a leather or copper band.

2. Finn and Poe Dameron

Filling out the sequel trilogy’s big three, Finn and Poe Dameron are back with brand new looks as well.

Finn looks like he’s rocking a new Resistance vest. He must be taking to the rebel life quite well. Meanwhile, Poe looks like he’s been hanging out with Nathan Drake. He’s got that adventurer look going on, which might be a hint to some exploration in the upcoming film. Both their hairstyles are noticeably different with Finn’s much longer and Poe’s much shorter. Quite some time must’ve pasted since the events of Episode VIII, meaning the Resistance must’ve taken some time to recuperate after their retreat in the last film.

The blasters they’re holding are Glie-44 blaster pistols, which are pretty standard issue for the Resistance. Both General Leia Organa and Poe have been using the pistol consistently throughout the sequel trilogy. But this is the first time we see Finn using one.

3. C-3PO and Chewy, but no R2-D2

With both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker gone, General Leia Organa is the last of the original trio. But with the sad passing of the late, great Carrie Fisher (She will be missed.) and the absence of her character from the poster its safe to assume that she might not be appearing in Episode IX.

But luckily, we’ve still got the “other” original trio. C-3PO in the poster looks combat ready AF, wielding Chewbacca’s signature Bowcaster and bandolier. Now it’s strange to think that a pacifist like C-3PO would go into combat, so I’m not to sure what to make of this.

And speaking of Chewbacca, the Wookie looks exactly the same. And I’m not complaining.

But there is one more member of the trio that seems to be missing and that is R2-D2. He’s not in the poster. And if this piece of promotional material is to be believed, it does make you wonder: What happened to our favorite blue droid?

4. BB-8 and his new friend

BB-8 has always been the new guy of the droid family; the younger brother, if you will. But based on the new droid standing beside him in the poster, it seems like BB-8’s got some competition for “the cutest droid in the galaxy”.

This new droid sports a green and white look and seems to use a ball to move around, similar to BB-8. But this new droid looks to have a different head, meaning it’s not a BB unit. It doesn’t seem to be something we’ve encountered before.

Little is known about this new droid. Could this be the C3-PO to BB-8’s R2-D2? His lifelong companion as they close this sequel trilogy to explore a new one? Only time will tell.

5. Lando’s Daughter and A New Bounty Hunter (?)

We’ve got three brand new characters that are set to make their first appearance in the yet-to-be-titled final chapter of the new trilogy.

First up, we see what looks like to be Naomi Ackie’s (Lady McBeth, Yardie) character in the movie. She’s been reported to play an important role in the upcoming movie for months now and the internet is theorizing that her character is going to be the daughter of everybody’s favorite sabacc player and second favorite smuggler, Lando Calrissian. Her character’s name is Jannah and we’ve seen her in perviously leaked set photos alongside Poe and Finn.

But whether this is true or not is yet to be confirmed. Although with Billy Dee Williams poised to reprise his role as Lando, I’m thinking there just might be some truth to this rumor.

Next up, we’ve got a helmet-clad female character dressed in a purple and gold space suit. She’s giving me major bounty hunter vibes, or it at least reminds me of Leia’s getup from Return of the Jedi (1983) when she rescued Han from the carbonite. Little is known about this character, except that her name is Zurri and she’s reportedly being played by Keri Russell (Felicity, The Americans), according to Variety. Russell was confirmed to be part of the movie and is said have an action-heavy role, which plays to the rumor that she could be a bounty hunter. But exactly who she’s hunting is currently unclear. Could she be the sequel trilogy’s answer to Boba Fett? I hope so.

Lastly, we have the unidentified alien creature lurking behind Finn in the poster. As of the writing of this article, we know absolutely nothing about it, except… that it’s gonna be in the movie.

6. New Ships and Really, Really Old Ships

What is a Star Wars movie without a good dogfight in space? And you can’t have a dogfight without cool ships. And lucky for us, Episode IX ain’t short on ships based on this poster.

Starting off from the top-right corner of the poster, we’ve got three Resistance ships. First is the iconic X-Wing, which has been piloted by the likes of Luke Skywalker and Poe Dameron. Below that is an A-Wing interceptor (specifically a RZ-2 model based on its design), another standard starship for many Resistance pilots. And at the bottom most of the three, is a Y-Wing bomber. This last one is strangest of the three becuase Y-Wings haven’t been used since the days of the Empire (Episodes IV-VI). But if the Resistance has truly fallen on hard times, then maybe using some older Rebellion-era ships is just what need to do to get by.

Next we have a shot of the famed Millennium Falcon, which looks exactly the same. No surprise there. Maybe it’s got a new satellite dish. Who knows?

Lastly, we’ve got a clustered shot of various New Order ships, including a couple of Star Destroyers, a few TIE fighters, and what seems to be a new class of TIE Interceptors. Interesting.

7. Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren looks alive and well, having repaired his helmet. You can tell by the glowing red seams that fill the cracks Kylo made when he repeatedly smashed the helmet into a wall like the edgelord he is. It also good to see that he’s sticking to his cross-guarded light saber looking as unstable as ever. Kylo here looks much more worn than he usually does, aside from the cracked helmet, you can see his cloak/cape is much more torn and faded than it once was. All the better to be edgy with, my dear.

But wait, who’re those guys behind him? Are those…

8. The Knights of Ren

Fans have long awaited the arrival of the mysterious order known as the Knights of Ren. And if this alleged official poster is to be believed, our wishes are finally coming true. The Knights of Ren first appeared in the vision sequence of The Force Awakens, where Rey finds herself in the rain in front of Kylo Ren and his knights.

We got a closer look at the knights from some concept art featured in The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

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They understandably look a little different from the concept art, but on the posters, they look nothing short of a bunch of badasses. Looks like Kylo’s finally decided to bring in the big guns for the final showdown. I sincerely hope these guys do not disappoint.

And yes, one of them is holding a great sword in the poster.

9. Red Stormtroopers

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) brought us the Elite Praetorian Guard and Executioner Troopers. Rogue One (2016) brought in Death Troopers and Shoretroopers. Now Episode IX is allegedly set to unveil a new kind of trooper clad in red. And based on the poster, we’re not going to get just one, but an entire army of them. And these aren’t just rebranded New Order Stormtroopers. No. These new troopers have their own helmet design and armor that looks to have a different contour from the ones that came before it. My guess is that these are guys are Kylo’s version of the Death Troopers; his very own elite squadron of Stormtroopers. He’s defnitely pulling out all the stops for this last movie. I. Am. Excited.

10. No Title Yet

All this talk of details and the one thing we all wanna know is still left in the dark. What is the Episode IX’s title going to be?

Theories have popped up regarding possible titles for this final chapter of the trilogy. The internet has barfed out things like A New Order, A Spark of Hope, The Last Hope, The Revenge of the Jedi, or my personal favorite: The Return of the Binks.

Jokes aside, people have even thought up the insane idea that the full title would be Star Wars: Episode IX – Part One, implying that they’d pull a full-on Deathly Hallows and split the final movie into two parts. I personally don’t know how to feel about that.

So, what do you think? Do you believe that this leak is legitimate and the poster is an actual official promotional material for the movie? Or do you think the internet has lied to us again? Did I miss anything from the posters? Tell me your thoughts on the comments below.

UPDATE: Mark Hamill was questioned on Twitter about the validity of the poster, to which he responded with: “I’m pretty sure that’s just the (wonderful) work of a passionate fan.” This disappointing weigh-in by Hamill himself aside, there are confirmed truths about the movie that the poster stays true to. And it’s also not outside the realm of possibility that confirming the legitimacy of the poster wouldn’t be something the team behind the movie would want, regardless of it being true or not. That being said, it seems that as of the writing of this update, we have yet to have our true first look into the final movie. We’ll just have to wait. Stay informed!