'Star Wars: Episode IX' Fan Trolls People With Dash Rendar "Spoiler"

Filming has finally wrapped on Star Wars: Episode IX, and director J.J. Abrams celebrated the [...]

By Joe Schmidt

Filming has finally wrapped on Star Wars: Episode IX, and director J.J. Abrams celebrated the occasion with a brand new photo of the sequel trilogy's stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac sharing a heart-warming hug.

But Star Wars fans are attempting to pick apart the secrets contained in the new photo, including a possible connection to Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. Just kidding, there's no Shadows tie in here, but that's not stopping a hilarious meme (that kinda pokes fun at obsessive Star Wars fans) from spreading around.

If you're confused by the last photo of the character with the ridiculous vest and shoulder pads, that's Dash Rendar, the protagonist of Lucasfilm's multimedia spinoff Shadows of the Empire and a poor stand-in for Han Solo. The storyline took place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, with Rendar aiding the Rebels against the criminal cabal of the Black Sun.

Shadows of the Empire was a product-focused test run for Lucasfilm's possible prequel plans, allowing them to gauge the fan interest in new characters and products that didn't have direct ties to the original trilogy. Their offerings included a novel that featured the original story, a video game adaptation for the Nintendo 64, action figures, and more.

Rendar found some cult love among fans of the entry, and though his fate is left slightly ambiguous Lucasfilm has yet to bring him back.

We're not going to suggest that this blurry photo confirms Abrams plans to bring Rendar back. It's just a funny coincidence that if you squint hard enough, the outfits kinda sorta look similar. But this is as good of an excuse as any to talk about Shadows of the Empire. Despite the shameless cash grab behind the initiative, it still holds a special place for fans of the franchise who were around in the '90s. And without it, who knows if George Lucas would have pulled the trigger on the prequel trilogy.

Maybe this will spawn a petition to get the Game of Thrones creators to focus their series of Star Wars films on the continued adventures of Dash Rendar, or perhaps even get Disney+ to green light a TV show.

But we're not going to hold our breath.

Star Wars: Episode IX premieres in theaters in December.

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