Warning: a major spoiler (if true) could follow below!
Vanity Fair might have spoiled The Rise of Skywalker in its coverage on the film this past week. However, the magazine deleted the revelation before most people could see it.
When Vanity Fair published several articles on their website last Wednesday, they dropped an interesting tidbit in one of their supporting articles. Within hours, however, the article had changed, with a correction notice stating that their description of a scene had been “mischaracterized.”
In a story called “Everything New In Vanity Fair’s ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Cover Story’ (click here to read it), author Joanna Robinson stated “Vanity Fair can exclusively confirm that, yes, those are the Knights of Ren that Kylo is mowing down in The Rise of Skywalker trailer.”
Here is a screenshot of the paragraph in question.
Within hours, however, the article had changed. The words suddenly changed to “Vanity Fair can exclusively confirm that, yes, the Knights of Ren are back.”
At the end of the article was a notice that stated: “Correction: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized a scene including Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren.”
A secondary article about the Knights of Ren made the same assertion, and was also changed with the same disclaimer. However, the article still contains a sub-headline that refers to their “onetime leader, Kylo Ren,” a fact likely to catch many fans by surprise.
While a still from the Rise of Skywalker trailer (above) shows that Kylo Ren might be attacking one of the Knights of Ren, it isn’t clear. However, even the correction Vanity Fair issued seems to confirm that indeed, those are the Knights of Ren in that clip.
Even if the original statement was true, and not a mistake, it appears to contradict what we know about the movie. In particular, Vanity Fair mentions and shows a photo of the Knights of Ren being filmed in Jordan, as they appear on the desert planet of Pasaana. The image of Kylo Ren supposedly fighting them is in a snowy grove of trees, hinting that it could be Kijimi. It is possible that they appear on both planets, however.
If Vanity Fair is correct that Kylo Ren is no longer the leader of the Knights, it makes sense that he and First Order troopers would be attacking them, meaning there has been a major shift in loyalty on their behalf.
It’s possible the characterization Vanity Fair originally published is a mistake, but it’s an error that goes totally counter to the otherwise well-written, informative articles. The author herself (Robinson) is a self-professed Star Wars fanatic, and a fan of “Reylo.” She knows the situation and characters involved, and it would be a huge mistake for her to get this point wrong.
Strangely, Robinson’s Twitter account includes no mentions of the articles or her work on it. For someone who tweets multiple times each day about her work, it leads us to believe she may have deleted tweets or been instructed not to discuss the film. We did not check her Twitter account until several days after the article was published.
If it is true, however, it may hint that Kylo may be taking a path to redemption, away from the Dark Side. And that is a major revelation Lucasfilm doesn’t want to leak.