If you recall, Colin Trevorrow was all set to direct STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, but after several years of development, Lucasfilm parted ways with the director, saying that "Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon." It was later announced that STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS director J.J. Abrams would return to take the helm of what would become STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.
However, it seems that something from Colin Trevorrow's vision for STAR WARS: EPISODE IX has managed to survive at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The Disney theme-park contains a few full-sized Star Wars vessels, including an X-wing fighter, the Millennium Falcon, an A-wing fighter, and a little something known as the First Order Tie Echelon, which you can see below.
Although it bares a resemblance to Kylo Ren's Tie Silencer, this particular vessel hasn't been seen in a STAR WARS film and likely won't be as it's apparently something which Colin Trevorrow and his team whipped up during his time on EPISODE IX. Collider reached out to Trevorrow, who confirmed that it's true and provided a few more details how the Tie Echelon was created.
It was just a natural part of the process. The Imagineering team asked us to develop a new ship for the park while we were designing the film. I took it pretty seriously—it’s not every day you get to be a part of something like that. They let me see what they were working on, so I got to see what Galaxy’s Edge was going to be. I think what they’ve created is incredible. It’s such an immersive experience.
Colin Trevorrow wouldn't say whether or not the Tie Echelon would have featured in a sequence he had in mind for STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, but he did say that it was going to be a part of an upgraded First Order fleet. Trevorrow added that the vessel is "an armed troop transport—the equivalent of a Blackhawk stealth helicopter. We wanted it to evoke memories of earlier ships while still being its own thing. If you look at the elements, it’s kind of a hybrid of designs from VII and VIII, with some familiar elements from OT Tie Fighters like Vader’s Advanced x1. There’s a lot of history in it." There you have it, folks.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.