Star Wars 8: First Order Judicial Details Revealed

A toy leak from Star Wars: The Last Jedi reveals new details about the First Order Judicial, a new class of stormtrooper that will be seen in the film. Ever since the iconic Imperial infantry first appeared on the big screen, each installment that followed made sure to debut new spins on the armor. There was an obvious marketing component in play, but typically the different variants make logical sense within the confines of the narrative – in addition to being fun visuals. The Force Awakens continued this grand tradition in 2015 by showcasing the First Order’s updated take on the original stormtrooper design. Episode VIII was always expected to follow suit.

Fans have known The Last Jedi will feature what has been referred to as the “Executioner” stormtrooper for a while, with word first coming out about them last fall. Marketing materials for the film have kept these soldiers behind the curtain for the most part – save for a glimpse in the D23 behind-the-scenes sizzle reel and one piece of merchandise. That’s set to change in the very near future, since the Executioner will be getting an action figure come Force Friday. Like most of the Episode VIII products, that has leaked early online, and with it comes some information about it.

A post uncovered on Reddit (hat tip Star Wars News Net) showed an image of the packaging for the Hasbro Black Series figure, revealing this new stormtrooper is also called the First Order Judicial. The back of the box included a character description:

The First Order can only operate effectively with the absolute loyalty of its followers. Should any soldier be found guilty of treason, it is up to this special branch of Stormtroopers to dispense final justice.

This sets up some high stakes for Finn, who of course betrayed the First Order in Episode VII. The Last Jedi sees him and Rose Tico team up to embark on a secret mission for the Resistance, which sees them go undercover aboard a Star Destroyer. Odds are, Finn’s disguise (an officer’s uniform) isn’t all that convincing, meaning he is in danger of being recognized and subsequently captured. Star Wars News Net suspects something like this could be in the cards, pointing out a clip from the reel shows what looks to be John Boyega’s stunt double on his knees in front of multiple Judicials. We know Finn is returning for Episode IX, but this nevertheless could be a tense and thrilling set piece that depicts a daring escape.


Star Wars is a franchise known for some of the best villains in cinematic history, but the films are just as notorious for making antagonists look cool (hyping up fans), only for them to not do anything substantial in their screen time. Hopefully, writer/director Rian Johnson is able to avoid this trope. He’s promising a beefier role for Captain Phasma and modeled Supreme Leader Snoke’s praetorian guards after samurai for action purposes, so it sounds as if he wants to deliver on the potential. It would be neat if the Judicial took the famous TR-8R scene to the next level and proved to be a worthy opponent.