'Star Wars Episode 9' Rumors: A Greater Threat Than the Sith May Be Coming

Star Wars: Episode IX is expected to focus on an epic battle between Light and Dark — symbolized by Rey and Kylo Ren — that could finally put an end to the struggle we’ve seen play out over the past eight movies (10 if you count Rogue One and Solo). But what if there’s an even greater threat in the galaxy that forces The Resistance and the First order to unite rather than simply destroy each other?

That’s what a new Episode IX theory argues, citing the recently published, canonical Star Wars book Thrawn: Alliances as evidence. In the book, we learn that an alien race called the Grysk could be that greater threat.

Here’s a quote from the book describing the Grysk (via redditor u/herplexed1467):

Grysks are a species living somewhere in the Unknown Regions. Creatures half of myth, whom few have ever seen. It is said that they are nomads, with no fixed home, traveling in spacecraft so numerous they blot out the stars. They are said to be terrifying warriors, overwhelming their opponents by sheer numbers and ferocity.

Sounds pretty scary, but could the Grysk actually show up in Star Wars: Episode IX? It would be a pretty huge twist, but u/herplexed1467 points out that it could also help resolve the current trilogy, set up the future of the franchise, and answer one of the biggest mysteries from the recent films all at once.

“I believe that this threat will be introduced in Episode IX, forcing The First Order and The Resistance to unite to combat it,” they write. “It would also open the door for a new trilogy of movies showcasing our new heroes against this greater threat. Perhaps it is revealed that Snoke was of this new race of aliens.”

More importantly, it would give Kylo and Rey another reason to team up, which would mean more of this goodness.

The problem? It might be too big of twist, overcomplicating what should be a movie meant to provide some closure on the Skywalker saga. As Reddit commenters quickly pointed out, it seems pretty unlikely that the Grysk will play a major role in Episode IX, though it’s possible they could show up in an animated or live-action Star Wars series. Better yet, maybe these “terrifying aliens” will play a central role in future Star Wars movies already in the works from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson or Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Either way, you probably shouldn’t expect to say some totally new army of aliens turn up in Star Wars: Episode IX, but if it does happen, remember that you heard it here first.

Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20, 2019.