By James Dyer | Posted 4 Sep 2017

How do you make the coolest X-Wing starfighter even more badass? You slap a bloody great thruster on the back and make it the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, that's how. Taken directly from the pages of the October issue of Empire (on sale this Thursday), this exclusive image from Star Wars: The Last Jedi shows Poe Dameron's X-Wing, codenamed Black One, specially retrofitted with additional thrust to help evade incoming fire.

The X-Wing (an Incom-FreiTek T-70, to be precise) has, according to Rian Johnson, been specially modified by Resistance engineers, with a temporary accelerator pod affixed to the aft section. According to The Last Jedi director, the pod, when primed, increases Dameron's speed, allowing him to outrun First Order cannon emplacements. It's just a temporary boost and will burn out quickly but it's enough to get beyond the barrage of turbo laser fire from First Order Star Destroyers such as the one depicted in the image.

For more exclusive images and information on the film, don't forget to pick up the October issue of Empire, on sale from Thursday 7 September. Subscribe to Empire here.