There are two things to look forward to in December: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and more from The Mandalorian. Pretty sure there’s nothing else happening. With all things a galaxy far, far away set to dominate, it’s only right that we get some new Rise of Skywalker footage, courtesy of a TV spot that not only shows the Knights of Ren for the first time, but could also feature a Mandalorian Easter egg according to one fan theory.
“Confronting fear… it’s the destiny of a Jedi,” begins the disembodied voice of Luke Skywalker in the Rise of Skywalker “Fate” TV spot. Talk about fear: the Knights of Ren can be seen looming ominously on the desert planet of Pasaana in what is their first sighting outside of Rey’s vision in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Could a showdown with Rey and Finn be on the way?
That shot's then intercut with a few moments we’ve already seen: Kylo and Rey fighting on a sunken Star Destroyer, Poe’s Resistance speech, and what looks like the biggest battle in Star Wars history with dozens upon dozens of First Order and Resistance ships dogfighting and dive-bombing.
Then there’s the possible nod to The Mandalorian – or, at least, a Mandalorian. According to one Redditor (H/T ComicBook.com), you can see a yellow blast fired from a blaster behind Kylo Ren at the 0:13 point. Outside of the Mandalore race, almost no one uses yellow blasters, making the choice of colour all the more curious.
Of course, it could be nothing. But with The Mandalorian (and Baby Yoda’s) heightened popularity in recent weeks, maybe Lucasfilm did some forward thinking and parachuted in a member of the proud, helmeted race to get their hands dirty in the final entry in the sequel trilogy. Where there's smoke, there's fire; where there's a Mandalorian, there's normally blaster fire.
Want more 'what ifs'? Here are some of the biggest Rise of Skywalker theories you need to know about before watching Episode 9.
