The First Order Tie Echelon. The name of this special Tie Fighter is almost certainly unfamiliar to casual Star Wars fans and maybe even to some die-hards. That’s because the ship has never actually been seen on the big screen or in any novels. You may recall Star Wars Episode 9 was initially under the guidance of director Colin Trevorrow before Disney canned his ass and gave the film back to The Force Awakens’ JJ Abrams. But if Trevorrow had stayed in that role you would’ve seen the Echelon in action. Instead, you’ll need to head to Disneyland for that.
You’ve undoubtedly seen and read quite a lot about Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, the latest awesome Disneyland theme park “land”. As you might expect, the attraction has been in the works for years, and the development phase included tie-ins to what would’ve been Trevorrow’s movie. One of those is a life-size replica of the First Order Tie Echelon. While he may no longer be officially involved with Star Wars, Trevorrow is still quite proud to have this small part of his vision remain intact.
“It was part of an upgraded First Order fleet,” said Trevorrow. “An armed troop transport—the equivalent of a Blackhawk stealth helicopter. We wanted it to evoke memories of earlier ships while still being its own thing. If you look at the elements, it’s kind of a hybrid of designs from VII and VIII, with some familiar elements from OT Tie Fighters like Vader’s Advanced x1. There’s a lot of history in it.”
The 100% Trevorrow-free Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 19th.
