The official Star Wars website has put a name to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stormtrooper-turned-meme known to most as TR-8R.

"His name is FN-2199," says a post on the site. "But his friends call him 'Nines.'”


Fans who have seen the film will recognize the character as the seemingly well-trained Stormtrooper who entered into melee combat with Finn after shouting the "Traitor!" to his former comrade (hence his nickname TR-8R). His combat skills and one spoken line have helped turn Nines into a minor online sensation, though until now he was only known by his fan-given moniker.

The StarWars.com post goes on to explain that FN-2199 appeared even before Star Wars: The Force Awakens — in Greg Rucka and Phil Noto's anthology book Before the Awakening (which some fans already speculated). He's shown standing in the background of one of Noto's illustrations, red-haired and helmetless, during a training exercise.


The novel also explains that he and Finn, aka FN-2187, are part of the elite FN Corps -- perhaps owing to their apparently higher level of combat prowess.

The voice of Nines was provided by Skywalker Sound sound editor David Acord, while his notable moves were performed by stuntperson Liang Yang.

In the film this riot trooper and his Z6 baton are seemingly dispatched rather quickly. However, the official write-up opines "Let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of Nines." Perhaps that means we haven't just yet.