In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is pictured killing a bunch of people with a few similarly dressed warriors in Rey’s lightsaber-fueled vision. In the same film, Ren’s then-master, Supreme Leader Snoke, references his being “the master of the Knights of Ren.” Aside from these passing mentions, however, the ominous group of antagonists hasn’t been heard or seen from since. They don’t appear in any way in The Last Jedi, and while numerous comic book continuations of the new trilogy’s story have addressed them, the Knights of Ren are largely absent from the films.
That’s all about to change in The Rise of Skywalker, as the group’s appearance in the ninth and final entry in the “Skywalker Saga” was previously confirmed by the first promotional looks at the film and a Vanity Fair feature on the movie in May. Behind-the-scenes photos of director J.J. Abrams instructing the costumed villains have also made the rounds online, though thanks to the above TV spot for The Rise of Skywalker, we’ve finally got an honest-to-goodness official first look at Kylo’s elite band of force users.
At the eight-second mark, viewers can get a quick glimpse of the gang standing atop a sandy, rocky cliff. Per the terrain pictured, it sure seems as though the Knights of Ren are on the same planet that Rey is squaring off with what looks like Kylo’s custom TIE fighter. This may very well be the same planet on which Finn, Poe Dameron, and the rest of the gang appear as though they’re being pursued by First Order stormtroopers.
Maybe it’s Jakuu. Maybe it’s Tattooine. Who knows? Either way, audiences will find out for sure when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters on December 20.
