The Vipers in Battlestar Galactica had it. Knight Rider had it. And now, Poe Dameron will have it in Star Wars, too. The beloved sci-fi power of “turbo-boost” now applies to X-Wing fighters. Poe Dameron’s new X-Wing in The Last Jedi will have a limited speed-boost called a “temporary accelerated pod.”
On Monday, Empire published Rian Johnson’s comments about how Poe’s specific X-Wing —Black One — has been souped-up for The Last Jedi. “The [accelerator] 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.”
Hitting the turbo-boost is a tried-and true sci-fi plot device, and even though this is the first time an X-Wing in a Star Wars movie will have this feature, it’s happened in a ton of Star Wars video games in the past. The original Rogue Squadron game for Nintendo 64 had a turbo-boost feature, as did several of the starfighters in the classic X-Wing PC games. So, from a certain point of view, Poe’s turbo boost isn’t new, but just the fulfillment of a feature Star Wars gamers have long-believed the X-Wings should already have.
Hopefully, the actual button will look something like this:
KITT's control panel from 'Knight Rider'
Punch it!
The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15.
