What's the Deal with the New Stormtroopers in Star Wars 9?

Reports of an elite red Stormtrooper inStar Wars 9started to make the rounds at the end of last year. It is rumored that these new unnamed Stormtroopers will have a solid red armor with some black stripes when they fight for the First Order. The trooper apparently is not one of the red pilots from theStar Wars: Resistanceseries. However, it has been rumored that they were developed around the same time. With that being said, it looks likeStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge may have confirmed these red troopers.

Scott Trowbridge, the Imagineering creative executive in charge ofStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, gave away some new information about the upcoming addition to the Disneyland and Disney World theme parks. When talking about the Stormtroopers at the park, he referred to them as “The 709th, the Red Fury.” He went on to say, “There are some stories to be told about those folks, and why they’re here, what they came looking for, or who they came looking for.” Now this sounds rather cryptic, but he does go on to give out some further information that could be tied toStar Wars 9.

It may be too obvious to name the redStormtroopers"Red Fury," but Scott Trowbridge hinted at some more potentialStar Wars 9reveals that seem to make sense. It had been rumored in the past that they were an elite squad and Trowbridge’s remarks about the “Red Fury” state that they are a separate squad too and even throws around the word elite again. Trowback had this to say about the new Stormtroopers at the park.

“This elite squad from The First Order has arrived on a new ship - the TIE Echelon, which has a cockpit similar toKylo Ren’s bat-winged shuttlebut the curved foils of Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced x1.”

It has also been revealed thatStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge takes place after the events ofThe Last Jediand beforeStar Wars 9. This piece of information makes it seem that the new addition to the theme parks is going to be set up to promote the upcoming movie, while giving fans a bit of backstory to some of the places, or even characters, that may pop up in J.J. Abrams' movie. Margaret Kerrison, managing story editor with Walt Disney Imagineering, explains.

“We want to give the impression that this planet has always been around, and that we’re coming into it as travelers for the first time ontoBatuu. There are layers and layers of history and all of these other characters, familiar and new, who have come and gone to this planet.”

Obviously, this is all speculation at this point in time, but it is starting to make a lot more sense forStar Wars 9connections. The red Stormtroopers may end up with a minimal part in the movie, but we won’t know until the movie hits theaters at the end of the year. However, it’s beginning to look like a lot of hardcore fans are going to want to visitStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge before the movie hits theaters for some possible intel. This information was first teased byEntertainment Weekly.