Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have answered many of our questions, but it’s fair to say it didn’t shine a lot of light on the enigmatic Knights of Ren. Instead, that’s been left to spinoff media to deal with. For instance, their origins have been explored in Marvel Comics’ The Rise of Kylo Ren series. Likewise, a tie-in book for Episode IX reveals even more about Kylo’s former henchman, including their names.
The book in question is The Visual Dictionary for the film, which offers a whole load of additional info that enhances the story of the Sequel Trilogy finale, like confirming that Jannah is most likely Lando’s daughter and revealing that three Legends Sith Lords are now once again part of canon.
So, here are the names of the six Knights, along with a description of each one, touching on their personal histories and what makes them so formidable. In fact, they sound really cool and it’s a shame that they were relegated to faceless lightsaber fodder in the actual movie.
- Vicrul: He sees himself as the reaper of the fallen and the harvester of souls. Growing in the Dark Side with every life he takes, this low-level Force user (like the rest of the Knights) has the ability to general fear in those he’s hunting.
- Cardo: A fierce warrior who makes good use of arm cannons, flamethrowers, and various other weapons, he also serves as the armorer for his fellow Knights and has an obsession with modifying weapons.
- Ushar: This particularly nasty member of the group believes in testing his victims and if they dare plead for mercy, he makes sure to give them a slow and painful death courtesy of his trademark war club outfitted with kinetic energy.
- Trudgen: Like any deranged serial killer, Trudgen enjoys taking trophies from his victims and as well as wielding a powerful vibrocleaver, his helmet also incorporates parts from a Death Trooper helmet he took after deating one of the formidable soldiers.
- Kuruk: A loner and a sniper, he also serves as the pilot for the Knights of Ren.
- Ap’lek: A master strategist, he uses the Force to see through the smokescreens he uses to conceal his approach and uses an ancient Mandalorian executioner’s axe as a weapon.
The biggest revelation from these descriptions is that the Knights possess low-level Force-sensitivity. Ever since the villains were first introduced in a silent cameo in The Force Awakens, fans have wondered whether they’re actually former students of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy, who Kylo managed to turn to the Dark Side when he burned down the temple. This turned out not to be the case, but at least we were right about them having some Force abilities.
Of course, the Knights of Ren were ultimately killed towards the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, when the redeemed Ben Solo battled – and executed – them in order to reach the Emperor’s throne room and save Rey on Exegol. Bye bye, fellas, we hardly knew you.
