You were probably too caught up in the hype surrounding Force Friday – we certainly were with our galactic gallery of Force Friday 2 toys – to notice a little something on what, at first glance, looked like a basic Snoke figure. It might just be nothing but maybe, just maybe, it’s a big ol’ tease for what The First Order has in store for Luke, Leia, and company in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Possible spoilers follow...
A Snoke toy, whose 6-inch figure came bundled with a four-pack of Praetorian guards, has a very interesting accessory wrapped around one of his fingers (kudos to Nerdist for pointing it out).
As you can see below, the leader of the First Order has a peculiar piece of jewellery, a ring with a black rock, on his left hand. While it could serve as a tribute to someone – possibly the original Emperor – it makes far more sense for the lump of rock to be a Kyber crystal.
For the uninitiated, Kyber crystals – first properly introduced on the big-screen in Star Wars: Rogue One – are essentially the building blocks for lightsabers. No crystal, no lightsaber. Got it? A black one, though, is mostly unheard of. The darksaber has been floating around in Star Wars side stories for some time (and looks ridiculously cool) but nothing to suggest it would crop up in the main franchise.
Interestingly, Kyber crystals can also power weapons, think Rogue One’s Death Star being fuelled by the trinkets. Knowing that, as well as Lucasfilm’s strangely-timed decision to push them into the forefront of the Star Wars universe, you get an idea of what Snoke might have in mind, be it new lightsaber or *sigh* a new Death Star (the baddies are nothing if not unoriginal).
Snoke may have a few tricks up his sleeve but it’s his hand we should have been keeping an eye on this whole time. A key to a galaxy-shaking weapon may be (literally) at his fingertips. Dun-dun-dun.
Images: Lucasfilm
