'Star Wars 9' Leaks Reveal Palpatine's Planet-Destroying Ship in Action

That’s no moon, it’s a … Star Destroyer? Rumor has it that when Emperor Palpatine returns in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker he could be commanding an entire Sith Fleet onboard a new ship with Death Star weaponry called the Onager Star Destroyer. Now, a fresh leak may reveal exactly what old Palps plans to do with his shiny new toy, and it’s bad news for Rey and the rest of our heroes.

Warning! Possible spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below.

First, a quick recap. According to the mostly reliable news site Making Star Wars, those Sith Troopers that Disney revealed are part of a large Sith Fleet hanging out in the outer fringes of the galaxy onboard their mobile Death Star. Soon after that report came out, another leak seemed to show that same ship, the Onager Star Destroyer, in action.

As a quick side note, the Onager actually comes up during the Galactic Civil War. The Rebels believe the Empire was building “Siege Breakers” that used kyber crystal-powered lasers capable of destroying entire mountains and cutting through most energy shields. Now, that same ship may appear in Episode IX.

Anyway, here’s that new picture of the Onager Star Destroyer blowing up a planet. You can see in the image shared on Reddit below, and click here for a much more detailed version of the same picture.

Scary stuff! But it gets even scarier. As one commenter on the Star Wars Leaks subreddit quickly pointed out, if the planet pictured above is average-sized, then the Onager Star Destroyer just blew up a patch of land the size of a small country.

Another commenter took things a step further, speculating that the planet, which appears to feature a mix of desert and flora, could be Pasaana, a new planet in The Rise of Skywalker that could play a big role in the movie. We know that’s where Kylo Ren confronts Rey in the trailer, but it might also be where our heroes find that broken Death Star at the end of the same teaser.

In that case, this new image could have spoiled one of the most climactic moments in Star Wars: Episode IX. Let’s just hope Rey and the rest of the gang are able to get off Pasaana before the Emperor and his Sith Troopers blow it up.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20, 2019.