Lucasfilm has confirmed the name of Kylo Ren's new TIE Fighter in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Set roughly a year after the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars 9 will kick off with Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader of the First Order. He'll have used the time to further establish the First Order's grip on the galaxy, as well as introduce new weapons, troops, and technologies.
Naturally, all these new features present a perfect opportunity for Lucasfilm to sell merchandise. October 4, 2019, will be Triple Force Friday, when a wide range of merch will hit the shelves. Force Friday is a normal part of the Star Wars promotional cycle, but this year's is particularly exciting because the merchandise will be associated with three projects; Star Wars 9, The Mandalorian, and Jedi: Fallen Order.
StarWarsNewsNet has obtained details of some of the action figures care of Twitter user Selene the Whisper, and one of the most interesting is a model of Kylo Ren's new TIE Fighter. Apparently this one-man vehicle is known as the TIE Whisper.
TIE Fighters are traditionally known for the "screaming" sound they make as they fly past, but it sounds as though Kylo Ren's TIE will be a lot quieter. This is quite an interesting detail, because it suggests the Supreme Leader aims to achieve his goals through stealth rather than unnecessarily indulging in brute force. Other merchandise hinted that Kylo Ren will be scouring the galaxy looking for dark side relics; perhaps he wants to ensure he can travel the galaxy without being tracked by the Resistance, who would no doubt target him.
The development of a stealth version of the TIE Fighter does feel very different, though; the First Order has traditionally seemed to follow the same pattern as the Emperor, depending on overwhelming numbers and superweapons rather than indulging in subtlety and stealth. Even in the old Expanded Universe, the Imperial Remnant only developed a TIE Stealth fighter when it was on the back foot and needed to operate in secrecy. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker kicks off with the First Order ascendant, having successfully launched a Blitzkrieg strike across the entire galaxy, so it's very surprising to see First Order scientists spending time developing this kind of tech. It perhaps indicates that Kylo Ren isn't quite so confident about the First Order's continued dominance; it could be that he knows better than to underestimate the Resistance, given they're led by his mother.
Source: StarWarsNewsNet
