Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a chance to make good on some new mythology that was introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but wholly ignored in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (for "reasons"). I'm speaking, of course, about the Knights of Ren, the badass masked warriors sporting various, specialized weapons who act as the elite fighting unit of Adam Driver's conflicted Kylo Ren. Introduced only in flashbacks of a brutal battle in heavy rain and a thin connective thread tied to the destruction of Luke Skywalker's training temple, very little has been confirmed about the Knights of Ren's identities, number, and part to play in Kylo's arc.

That may be about to change with J.J. Abrams' return to the helm of the ninth core Star Wars film. Vanity Fair has quite the extensive look behind the scenes of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which includes a shot of Kylo Ren's knights. Instead of the dark and stormy (k)night, these stunt performers are chillin' like villains in the Jordan desert sun. They sport various weapons and armor sets, looking much more cobbled together rather than taking on any sort of group uniform. While this scene, and their brief appearance in the movie's trailer, doesn't tell us much about the timeline for the Knights themselves or their part in the story, it's enough to know (for now) that they'll be making an appearance.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Knights of Ren in this shot of Abrams with stunt coordinator Eunice Huthart (via VF and Annie Leibovitz):

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20th and stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Kerri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher.

For more on the film, click on links to our recent articles below:

star-wars-9-knights-of-ren
Image via Lucasfilm