Confirmed: Stormtroopers still can't catch a break. A new photo from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker shows them toppling like little black-and-white dominoes while Adam Driver's Kylo Ren plants his feet -- cape flapping behind him -- and faces blowback from ... what? Well, that's the mystery being teased in the new image, which you can see here:
What is happening there? Fans are speculating that it could be the Millennium Falcon making a lightspeed jump out of the hangar to get away from these clowns, and Team Kylo is left in the dust.
Here's hoping Palpatine is involved somehow, just because he'd cackle at the falling stormtroopers too. (Speaking of stormtrooper fails, did you see the trailer for that documentary on the infamous stormtrooper who hit his head? That trailer is way better than it should be.)
Empire shared the Kylo image as part of its new spread on Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, which closes out the Skywalker Saga this December.
We just saw Empire's new Rise of Skywalker photo finally showing a good look at The Knights of Ren, proving that Kylo does have friends. (For now?) Some other fairly recent things we've seen about Kylo in Rise of Skywalker include the name of his TIE fighter and a look at his repaired mask.
Fans have already been shown a little glimpse of one "great fight" -- Daisy Ridley's words -- Kylo has ahead with Rey. Star Wars also revealed a new cool look at Rey herself. Rise of Skywalker will be following up on Rey and Kylo's frenemy bond from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. In The Last Jedi, Rey and Kylo had a talk about her parents and seemed to land on the idea that they were nobodies of significance. Will that stay the case through the Saga's final chapter?
Daisy Ridley did say answers are given on Rey's parents in this movie. What if those answers do tie her to the Skywalkers? That was the initial assumption when we met her in The Force Awakens. But that would also make her related to Kylo, aka Ben Solo. The many Kylo/Rey 'shippers out there would not approve, but I would appreciate the Skywalker synergy, considering some fans probably 'shipped Luke and Leia back before we knew they were twins.
Keep up with all the news about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at our handy guide page. I'll say it again: I'm most curious about this end shot tease from Kevin Smith. Everything else I'm just cautiously optimistic to see. The magic Force broom rises into theaters on December 20, 2019.
