Former Star Wars 9 (now officially titled The Rise of Skywalker) helmer Colin Trevorrow reveals that Galaxy's Edge features a TIE Fighter from his scrapped film. The Disneyland Resort has recently opened its doors to its newest park attraction, allowing fans to experience the beloved franchise in an entirely different and more immersive way. Aside from the several interesting areas of the themed-park, visitors will also be able to see a First Order vessel that was supposed to be featured in the next saga movie created by Trevorrow.
Trevorrow was officially tapped to direct and co-write (alongside frequent collaborator Derek Connolly) in 2015. But following a delay in production start and a script rewrite from Jack Thorne, it was announced that the Jurassic World filmmaker parted ways with Lucasfilm due to creative differences. The project ultimately nabbed J.J. Abrams who brought the franchise back to the forefront with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fans may never find out what Trevorrow's plan was in terms of closing out the Skywalker narrative, but they can at least see a TIE Fighter that he designed for Star Wars 9 over at Galaxy's Edge.
Speaking with Collider, Trevorrow revealed how he got involved with Galaxy's Edge, saying that while he was working on Star Wars 9, the Imagineering team asked them to develop a new ship for the threequel. Named the TIE Echelon (photos below from Rob Keyes during our trip to Galaxy's Edge), the filmmaker added that he got too invested in crafting the vessel. Around that same point, he was also thinking of how it was going to fit in the movie.
It was part of an upgraded First Order fleet. An armed troop transport—the equivalent of a Blackhawk stealth helicopter. We wanted it to evoke memories of earlier ships while still being its own thing. If you look at the elements, it’s kind of a hybrid of designs from VII and VIII, with some familiar elements from OT Tie Fighters like Vader’s Advanced x1. There’s a lot of history in it.
When pressed for more information regarding the specific sequence the TIE Echelon was supposed to make its debut, Trevorrow refused, implying that fans would have a good idea how the ship fits into his Star Wars 9. Assuming that his movie was also set to execute a one-year time-jump like The Rise of Skywalker, that gives the Kylo Ren-led First Order enough time to build brand new TIE fighters as they gear up for a final battle against the Resistance. Whether or not it was supposed to have its own fleet or a specialized one like Vader's is unknown, although given how Trevorrow described the ship, it seems like it has a few tricks that can prove useful for the First Order.
It's uncertain how much of Trevorrow's Star Wars 9 story will be adapted by Abrams in The Rise of Skywalker - if there'll be any. Chances are that the TIE Echeleon won't appear in the threequel, although from the looks of it, the movie won't have any scarcity when it comes to new ships and vessels. The project's first trailer prominently featured another special TIE fighter which is widely believed to be piloted by Kylo Ren himself.
Source: Collider
