Is there going to be a Death Star in The Last Jedi? If you believe the box art for a Revell TIE Silencer model kit then the answer is yes. IF you believe the box art...
Ok! Where to start. This image first popped up in our VIP Facebook group yesterday. I first thought that perhaps a fan had photoshopped the Death Star into the image for fun, but it seems to be genuine. Check out the tweet below.
I think Jason a MakingStarWars.net said best when he wrote-
“I honestly don’t know what to make of this.”
Two things. First, they really shouldn't use yet another Death Star in The Last Jedi. Narratively it represents a bit of a step back for the First Order and it will really upset a lot of Star Wars fans just waiting to level accusations of retreading at Lucasfilm. That's my opinion on things, maybe you would like to see another Death Star onscreen, but I wouldn't.
Second. If this is artistic license on the part of Revell, how the hell did that get past the people at Lucasfilm? Is it deliberate disinformation? Or are things so loose over there that a major model make can simply burp out whatever it wants on the packaging? Revell has used the Death Star as a background element previously, for the Darth Vader TIE Model kit that came out with The Force Awakens branding. See that below.
So are Revell simply using the same design aesthetic for their new range of Star Wars models? Throwing whatever looks Star Warsy on the box? Or have they just let out a huge spoiler for Rian Johnson's Star Wars movie? The excellent MakingStarWars.net post on the subject included this piece of trivia from one of their readers-
“For Poe’s X-wing background 2 years ago they used a fanmade Star Destroyer model...”
I guess there is a chance this is based on Star Wars Battlefront II which seems to allow the player to bend canon at will. So maybe Kylo Ren's TIE Silencer joins the assault on the Death Star battle from both Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope or Star Wars Episode VI The Return Of The Jedi? I don't like the odds of that being the case though. Looks like a huge mistake, whichever way this plays out...
Thank you for reading,