SPECULATION Official Knights of Ren in Episode VIII Thread

Some more stuff from Pablo:


Not that anyone thought so but confirmed that Snoke isn't a member of the Knights of Ren and Pablo is still dancing around the issue of the KoR being FS or not.

 

I want the knights of Ren to fight Luke's Jedi academy. It would be cool for an epic all-out Lightsaber war

 

I will have to go back and look because I'm not 100% sure but I believe that The Visual Dictionary states that Kylo is known to be skilled with the lightsaber as it was this skill that help him earn the nickname Jedi Killer. When I get home and get a chance I will check to confirm if that is the case.

 

was re-reading this interview with Adam Driver and here's some things to mull over:

Q: So who are the Knights of Ren?

A: It was a group that existed before him, that he was a part of. Their place within everything is maybe more of a satellite group than I would say. … This is really tricky.

Q: Is that why everything that you have is a bit broken down?

A: No, there’s definitely a history that you see in the costume of things in the past right away. They’re kind of like visible scars, on his outfit. In part to intimidate but also because he’s carrying along this history of people.​

not sure how much one question/answer has to do with the other (they are in sequence), but he is talking about his costume, which is a KOR thing. things he says that are interesting (though maybe just semantic):

• he refers Ren's association with them in the past tense ("it was a group", "he was a part of"). he's obviously separated from them now, though we don't know why, and yet he is still technically their master if they still exist?
• he emphasizes the scars of the costume as suggests he's "carrying along this history of people". history, again, as in past tense? possibly not.

Driver has a confusing interview style in which he often says "no" to things he means "yes" to ~ so it's sometimes hard to tell when he's agreeing or disagreeing (especially in transcription ~ it's more obvious when he's talking). so not sure what we can actually get out of either of these brief lines, but there seems to be an emphasis on the KOR as legacy/past/history (to Kylo Ren at least) ~ whether they themselves are past remains to be seen.

 

I feel like the KOR are the Acolytes of the Beyond since Kylo likes to collect Vader stuff he would've connected with them. I don't think they're force sensitive because none of them had light sabers in the flashback plus if they did I feel like they'd serve a bigger purpose in the First Order, unless they're not affiliated with them, but I feel like they are. I think they might be sort of the "navy seals" to the First Order possibly. I also have a theory since Kylo's light saber was destroyed in the battle with Rey, Snoke might give him Darth Vaders light saber as kind of a "graduation" gift for completing his training, but Kylo's crossguard lightsaber is kind of iconic to Kylo so I don't know if that would happen. Snoke might even possibly be the Leader of the KOR. I know it's said Snoke isn't a KOR but the president isn't part of the military, yet he is the head. Yes Kylo is the master, but in the military the master chief is the highest, but the president (which in this case would be Snoke), would be the commander in chief if that makes sense.

 

I was looking back through The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and came across the KOR concept art. The costumes they designed are some of the coolest costumes I've ever seen. The helmets, weapons, gear, etc. have such a unique look to them. I'm really hoping we get to see more of the KOR in VIII. It'd be a shame if all we ever saw of them was that small glimpse in TFA.



I mean c'mon, that speeder bike looks so cool! I really hope that design makes its way into the films. Huge props to Glyn Dillon and the other artists that worked on those concept designs.

 

Now either the KOR are (were) Acolytes of the Beyond or they're not.

My questions are:
1. If they were, what made them change names?
2. If they never were, how did they come to be the Knights of Ren? How did they start up? Where did they come from?
3. When did they start up?
4. Do you think Snoke had anything to do with them?

These are just start up questions to help you think.

GO!

 

we've had some other threads where we've kicked around a lot of these ideas:

• Knights of Ren Heirarchy
• Analysis of the Knights of Ren and the Church of the Force and what they represent
• Official Knights of Ren in Episode VIII thread

and there's also been a lot of discussion about them in the Kylo Ren, Snoke, and First Order threads.

here's the rundown so far as i know it:

1. The KOR and the AOB share Sithy interests, but they are comprised of very different personalities (there's nothing to say, however, that the Acolytes didn't adopt more warrior-like attributes over the years). if the two are related, "Ren" may have some significant meaning for this change. there's been some analysis of what Ren means in various cultures, but we have no idea what it means in Star Wars.
   
2. i think the only thing we know about the KOR for certain is that they came after the fall of the Galactic Empire.
3. see above: and even then we don't know where on the 30-year timeline they emerged. Kylo Ren became a member within the last 6-10 years most likely.
   
4. Snoke doesn't seem to have any particular interest in the KOR, it's Ren's "thing", and he's even kind of dismissive about it in the film. it's not clear whether the KOR serves the FO's interests at all, and Kylo Ren is treated like an independent "contractor" under Snoke (for lack of a better term ~ he has no official rank and no one acknowledges him as "Master" ~ he's just "Ren" and addressed as a generic "sir").

there's some interesting discussion in that fist link about the Heirarchy. i think most people agree we just know maddeningly little about the group.

 

That helmet! Yeah, it'd really be a shame if they didn't use this stuff.

(That bike looks like a grasshopper. )

 

I think that helmet ended up becoming the helmet for the FO Crew Members. It's kind of hard to see in the photo below but you can also see a few of them running around in the background during Finn and Poe's escape.



I guess that speeder does kind of look like a grasshopper. I still think it looks cool though.

 

SPECULATION:

1. The real KOR took over and corrupted the acolytes .

2. The KOR are like the illuminati and come from various planets in the galaxy focused on the outer rim .

3. They started up during the times of when the Sith battled each other and the formation of the Jedi .

4. Snoke is actually royalty with the acolytes and is their corrupted leader and is even older than Maz Kanata and is a child of the force that created plagueis who in turned created The Skyealker Dynasty which is why he's so obsessed z

 

The Knights of Ren originated as a clan surrounding a single force-wielder. This force-wielder is known as the "Ren" of the group and the other members address him by a specific name e.g Kylo Ren. Each generation gets a different first name and inherits the helmet. His knights are like his missionaries. It's essentially the new Sith order. Snoke formed them with the ultimate goal of getting Vader's grandchild to be the next "Ren" and he succeeded.

 

Maybe they former-apprentices of Vader.

 

Doesn't he kill them during the OT ?

 

Maybe they had children.

 

Maybe the Acolytes are like a spiritual part of a cult, and the knights of Ren are the armed fraction of that? I remember, prior to the release of The Force Awakens, reading somewhere that Kylo Ren is kind of a religious fanatic, so that goes nicely with the whole dark side cult thing, plus it would be a cool thing to see on the screen.

 

Oh it's badass. Wasn't disagreeing with you. Give us Grasshopper Bike!

I had a wild thought about Kylo's relationship with the Knights, and my apologies if someone else has said this... It's been suggested that Rey's vision of them is a glimpse not of the past but of the future, right? Also: that when Kylo kills that dude (Clan Leader/Knight of Ren/whoever he is), he (Kylo) is protecting her (Rey, who is actually there when it happens). Let's just assume for a minute that that's true...

Imagine if Kylo's leadership of the KOR was a bit tenuous. They're starting to catch on that he's soft, distracted, easily usurped; meanwhile, he's starting to go "you know what, screw these guys," and wants to break away. Then here comes Rey. They're supposed to kill her. And just then, out of freaking nowhere, Kylo intervenes and kills his own guy to save her.

Whatever distrust had been brewing, now it's out in the open. Kylo's gone rogue. And you know what that means:

A seven-on-one (or two, if Rey got involved) Kylo vs. the KOR fight to the finish!

Haha, I'm just saying 'what if,' but I sure as hell would want to watch that!

 

For my part, I hope they will at least reveal the Knights of Ren's motivation as a group. I assume (like many of you) that they are elite warriors (perhaps even force sensitive) and I would be really disappointed if they are presented only as Snoke's bodyguards. With what we've seen with Kylo Ren, I'm hoping they are a group dedicated to finding ancient relics (either Jedi or Sith) for Snoke. When Snoke heard of a map to Skywalker, he dispatched Kylo, the group's leader, to find it.

Since Kylo pretty much failed in all of his endeavors in TFA, perhaps we'll see Snoke revoke his position as Master and leave the place open for another member to grab it. I really hope they don't use the Knights Of Ren in a similar way to the Inquisitors for Rebels, meaning they are just used to deal with the Force Sensitive protagonists.

 

http://makingstarwars.net/2016/05/star-wars-episode-viii-the-knights-of-ren/

 

What a waste. This sounds like it will be at the start of the film unless Rey and Luke spend the entire film on Ach To, christ.