Please do not share the details of this article openly on social media and spoil Star Wars: Episode IX for those that want to remain spoiler-free. These are very general spoilers but let’s respect other fans’ wishes and not spoil those that do not appreciate spoilers. What follows will be considered a spoiler to some so as always, be cool!

We Fix Cracked Helmets!

I was originally collecting information on two stories about Kylo Ren and and a new droid that interfaces with BB-8. Yesterday on StarWarsLeaks some Star Wars: Episode IX information hit and I can verify that it is legitimate and lines up with what I have been hearing for the last couple of months. This information came from a marketing meeting and my information came from Pinewood Studio sources and they seem to really validate one another.

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi we see Kylo Ren degraded by Supreme Leader Snoke. He lifts him up by telling him with his bloodline he saw the potential for a new Vader. Snoke looks at Kylo with his helmet on and says “take that ridiculous thing off.” Kylo having been bested by a young woman that had never held a lightsaber before disappoints Snoke and that pushes Kylo’s hate for Snoke into a new realm. Kylo leaves The Supreme Leader and bashes the helmet in a rage. He sees Darth Vader in the busted mask, looking like the burnt helmet of Vader he speaks to in secret and then he gives the mask a final hit and it crumbles. By the end of The Last Jedi, Kylo has defeated Snoke and become Supreme Leader of the First Order himself.

In Star Wars: Episode IX does Supreme Leader Ren wear a mask? The same mask? Does he go full Darth Vader?

Sources have said they saw Kylo Ren with the reforged mask on in various stages of dress, which also means we can’t yet say how often he wears the helmet, so if this news disappoints you, try to keep that in mind.. To them it looked like the mask was pieced back together using some kind of red crystalline bonding material. The visual gave the mask “a very corrupted look.” A little Kylo, a little Vader, and maybe even with a hint of Maul’s facial stylings.

Droid Sidekick of a Droid Sidekick

I also heard a few reports that BB-8 has a sidekick in the movie and its a little droid named D.O. (I’ve heard it as D.O. but the reddit poster said Dio (or Iden’s ID10 droid in Battlefront II) like the 80’s band, perhaps because it was only heard and not shown). The Reddit poster compared it to a megaphone and that also rings true. When the guys at Pinewood spoke about the little droid they said it was sort of an ugly duckling idea in that the droid treated BB-8 as a parent and was very attached to him. It sounded like he interfaced with BB-8 and someone thought the mechanism created for lightsaber storage in The Force Awakens that was never used in that film was redesigned to actually house D.O./Dio according to content seen by another source.

So yes, Kylo does wear a mask and it sounds like BB-8 is a daddy. There’s no word yet on if Dio is supposed to restore Mandalore but that’s another story, I suppose.

Thanks to u/Xyzsvtabc for sharing what was seen and the extra verification.