Star Wars: The Force Awakens fan favourite “Traitor!” Stormtrooper gets official name and background

When an unnamed stormtrooper from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” randomly became the film’s breakout star, people began to speculate who was behind the mask. Some said it was Kevin Smith, others said it was the director J.J. Abrams himself. Well, it turns out it was Liang Weng, a veteran stuntman.

More interestingly though, the character is actually called FN-2199 or “Nines.”

The Star Wars official website (via Squareeyed) said this about him: “His name is FN-2199. But his friends call him “Nines.” As detailed in Greg Rucka’s excellent book Before the Awakening, Nines trained and served on a squad with Finn (then FN-2187) in the First Order. That explains why he seems just a little extra angry upon seeing Finn during the attack on Maz’s Castle. You can see FN-2199 in the image below by Phil Noto from Before the Awakening — he’s the trooper seated in the background with red hair. Who’d have thought?”

“There’s a reason that Nines gets to use an awesome weapon (which is called a Z6 baton). He’s riot control, and part of an elite squad that enforces order or squashes uprisings. While their weapons are non-lethal in theory, the Z6 can definitely cause harm or kill an opponent when used with brute force. Look, if a lightsaber can’t cut it, you know it ain’t good news.

“You’ve heard his work before. Kind of! FN-2199’s voice (including, of course, “Traitor!”) was provided by David Acord, a Skywalker Sound sound editor. Acord’s production credits include Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Pretty good training for a stormtrooper. (Inside the armor is Liang Yang, a veteran stunt performer. Without his baton spinning, you wouldn’t be reading this.)”