'Rise of Skywalker' could see the Stormtroopers get an upgrade and emerge as a formidable threat since 'they fly now'
There are very few constants in the universe, and one of them, in a galaxy far, far away, is that all the Force guidance in the world couldn’t help Imperial Stormtroopers actually hit their targets. Through the years, in multiple incarnations across the ‘Star Wars’ universe, the Stormtroopers’ one defining quality is that no matter how many of them there are, none of them actually hit a target they’re aiming at. ‘Rise of Skywalker’ however, may be changing that.
On Monday, the ‘Star Wars’ site released a short clip of the upcoming ‘Rise of Skywalker’ film, showing Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and Chewie (Joonas Suotamo) and their droids on the run from Stormtroopers, pursuing them on desert bikes. Two of the Stormtroopers are launched from the bikes into the air, and to the dismay of our heroes, they activate their new jetpacks. Yes, the Stormtroopers fly, now.
On Wednesday, the site released a video that covered the evolution of the Stormtroopers, and the variations in their armor. The video shows how modern-day Stormtrooper design is more sleek and contemporary. ‘Star Wars’ seems to be building up the Stormtroopers to be more than just cannon fodder to get through on the way to the First Order’s actual threats.
The Stormtroopers have always been less of a threat, and more of an indication of the Empire’s power, and reach. An individual Stormtrooper might not amount to much, but as an army, they showed that the reach of the Empire - and now, the First Order - is everywhere. Stormtroopers aren’t the threat, the fact of their existence is. They’re about as important as bricks in a wall, and heroes tend to cut them down as routinely.
Giving Stormtroopers more of a fighting chance really ups the stakes of the movies, and gives the heroes more weight to their victories. Surprises like jetpacks have improved things too - if they’ve been keeping jetpacks up their sleeves, what other surprises do they have in store? It’s about time that the enemy army stops being a joke, and starts treating their blasters like things that can actually do damage.
Even ‘The Mandalorian’ seems on board with this concept. The Stormtroopers who appeared in the latest episode did not manage to take the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) down, but they did, at least, manage to hit him quite a few times, and it’s shown us just how much it changes how good an action scene is when a hero is up against a credible threat.
‘Rise of Skywalker’ releases in theaters on December 20.