The Knights of Ren is an organization introduced in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Kylo Ren was the highest-ranking member among this group as he was the master of the knights. Despite their alliance with the First Order, the Knights of Ren were not part of the formal hierarchy of the organization, as their agendas trumped that of the First Order's commanding officers. It is unknown how many knights existed, but eight have been seen so far.
Dating back centuries, the Knights of Ren were an almost-mythical group of marauders that followed the ideology of their leader, Ren himself, until Ben Solo took his place. This ideology was based around following the will of the dark side itself, rather than their own selfish interests. As the Sith did, they lived how they chose, took what they wanted, and consumed what the dark side sent them. All the Knights of Ren are Force-sensitive, but their strength with the dark side of the Force is middling and amateurish. Additionally, each Knight of Ren is a weapons specialist, and trained with their own unique and deadly weapon of choice.
As of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Knights of Ren were all wiped out by the redeemed Ben Solo.
Contents
Background
Organization
The Knights of Ren include Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, whom Supreme Leader Snoke refers to as the master of the Knights of Ren. Despite Kylo having this title, the Knights of Ren are actually loyal to Palpatine, the Dark Lord of the Sith, as they also refer to him as master and have been following his orders all along.
As a member of the Knights of Ren, Kylo is not officially part of the hierarchy of the First Order. Despite this, he operates freely within the order, who tolerate his presence with some hesitation as his agenda does not strictly coincide with their own. Ben wears a black and silver helmet and garb similar to the battle gear worn by the other members of the Knights of Ren.
Knights of Ren titles
- Master of the Knights of Ren: This is a title granted to Ben Solo after he became the leader of the knights.
History
The Knights of Ren operated for many centuries before the Galactic Civil War. The Knights of Ren were a new generation of shadowy acolytes that filled the void of the dark side of the Force after the destruction of the Sith Order at the Battle of Endor.
After Ben Solo killed their leader, Ren, he became the master of the knights and adopted the name of Kylo Ren. Along with Kylo Ren, the Knights of Ren started to work under the command of Supreme Leader Snoke, who used them as a tool of the dark side of the Force, alongside the First Order. However, as Darth Sidious created Snoke, and used him as a puppet, the Dark Lord of the Sith was secretly their true commander. Approximately six years after the destruction of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple, the Knights of Ren, particularly Kylo Ren, under the orders of Snoke, were to find and kill Luke Skywalker (the surviving member of the New Jedi Order, and the last Jedi Master in the galaxy) as Snoke knew that as long as Luke lived, a new generation of Jedi Knights could rise again.
When Snoke was killed by Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and the latter took his place, the Knights of Ren served him in the same way that Snoke's Praetorian Guards had, following him into battle and serving as his body guards. However, their true allegiance was to Sidious all along, as they discovered that he had resurrected himself many years ago. They were stationed on Exegol when Kylo returned as Ben, having redeemed himself. Ben, after a lengthy battle where he was badly beaten, was given his grandfather's lightsaber by Rey through their Force-bond and quickly killed his former allies, ending the Knights of Ren for good.
Notable Knights of Ren
- Ren †
- Ben Solo/Kylo Ren † (formerly)
- Ap'lek †
- Cardo †
- Kuruk †
- Trudgen †
- Ushar †
- Vicrul †
Appearances
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
In the sequel trilogy, the Knights of Ren are the newest threat to the Republic and subordinates to the First Order. Snoke serves as their leader, with Kylo Ren in turn leading under him, as he refers to Kylo as "Master of the Knights of Ren" in the film. They appear in a vision Rey had on Takodana, in which they are seen massacring a group of people in a rainy location.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Kylo Ren is the only member of the Knights of Ren that appears in this film. The organization and the other members neither appear nor are mentioned.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The Knights of Ren are first seen accompanying Kylo Ren when he has his destroyed helmet repaired. They later join Kylo on Pasaana, where they kidnap Chewbacca after he gets separated from Rey, Finn, and Poe.
The Knights of Ren appear much later in the film, after Ben Solo has been redeemed. They corner him on Exegol before he can get to Darth Sidious and Rey. They attack him, prompting Rey to give him Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber via the Force. Ben then engages in a six-versus-one fight with the Knights of Ren and eventually manages to kill all of them. The battle starts when the Knights start beating Kylo, slightly scarring his face. While the knights surround their former leader, Rey gives Anakin's lightsaber to him through their Force-bond. When Ben gets his grandfather's saber, the knights recoil slightly confused. Ben shrugs his hands (similar as his father did during the Battle of Endor). Ben immediately kills Kuruk and Cardo with a fatal swing from his grandfather's lightsaber before restraining Vicrul's scythe. He uses the Force to push Ap'lek into a pit, making him fall to his death, before cutting down Vicrul. Ben then effortlessly stabs Trudgen in the chest and then jumps over Ushar, killing this last knight with a stab through the back.
Portrayals
In The Rise of Skywalker, the actors who played Knights of Ren are listed as follows:
- Ashley Beck - Ushar
- Martin Wilde - Cardo
- Joe Kennard - Kuruk
- Anton Simpson Tidy - Vicrul
- Tom Rodgers - Trudgen
- Lukaz Leong - Ap'lek
Trivia
- The "Ren" surname in "Kylo Ren" was once believed by fans to be similar to the title of "Darth" used by the members of the Sith Order. However, only Kylo holds it as a surname and the previous leader of the group, "Ren", uses it as an alias. The other members are addressed only by their knight names and do not have any surnames.
- In The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker states to Rey that Ben had taken some apprentices with him and slaughtered the rest of his fellow Jedi students in Luke's Jedi temple, so one could imply that the students that left with Ben later became the Knights of Ren. However, in The Rise of Kylo Ren comic book, it is revealed that Luke was mistaken and that Ben did not actually massacre all his fellow Jedi, as most of them were killed by a lightning storm. The few survivors left to purse Ben Solo, and were killed later confronting him and the Knights of Ren, an organization that already existed prior to these events.
- Director Rian Johnson stated that the Knights of Ren didn't appear in The Last Jedi because he couldn't find a place for them in the film. He explained that he could have used them in place of the Praetorian Guards, but he disliked the idea of the Knights of Ren dying shortly after their first appearance since all the guards had to die during their fight against Kylo Ren and Rey. Furthermore, their relationship with Ben Solo/Kylo Ren would have added a complication to this scene.[1]
- Ironically, that is exactly their fate in The Rise of Skywalker, as they appear briefly in a few scenes of the film, and have no dialogue or character development on screen before being killed by Ben Solo.
- None of the Knights of Ren have any spoken dialogue in the films, save for a few grunts during the fight with Ben in The Rise of Skywalker.
- In some respects, the Knights of Ren are similar to the Inquisitorius, as they both are servants of the Sith.
- Before The Rise of Skywalker release in theaters, J.J. Abrams expressed his interest to make a film about the Knights of Ren, so many people thought that they would have a prominent role in the final installment of the sequel trilogy.
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References
External links
Knights of Ren on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki- Knights of Ren on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)
