'Star Wars' stormtrooper with awesome sword skills gets a backstory

A screenshot of the Stormtrooper being dubbed "TR-8R" by fans who appreciate his skillsStar Wars film Screenshot / Disney

George Lucas has rebranded the character of the Stormtrooper who aggressively confronted Finn in a Resistance versus First Order Battle. The show creator now claims that the trooper was FN-2199, also known as Nines.

Nines first appeared in the "Star Wars" spinoff novel "Before the Awakening," and is a Stormtrooper that served with FN-2187 (or also known as Finn) under Captain Phasma. Nines is part of the FN Corps and was trained in hand to hand battle extensively alongside other troopers FN-2187 (known as Finn in the film, but also called Eight-Seven in "Before the Awakening) FN-2000 (also nicknamed Zero) and FN-2003 (or Slip). Nines is described to have red hair.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has introduced fans of the saga to a whole new dimension of the "Star Wars" universe, including a deeper and more three-dimensional perspective of the Stormtroopers. Prior to the seventh film, soldiers of the villain alliance were often seen as bland and emotionless. Nines became a movie favourite, and memes calling him TR-8R, as in "Traitor," went viral online.

Nines was seen on a battlefield where he confronts Finn after calling him a traitor. The Stormtrooper engages Finn, who wields a lightsaber, with what seems to be a plasma sword. Nines gains the upper hand against Finn, but is shot by Han Solo with Chewbacca's crossbow.

The crowd favourite Stormtrooper was played by veteran stuntman Liang Yang, and his voice was provided by David Acord, sound editor for Skywalker Sound.

It is presumed that Nines is dead since the shot Han took on him seemed fatal, but there is still hope to see more of him considering the clamour fans are making out of his one minute appearance, and that "Star Wars" has been fond of resurrecting characters like anything.

The Star Wars official Newsroom also shares in a recent post that fans can still "hope we haven't seen the last of Nines. Or TR-8R."