No, Richard Grant isn’t playing General Hux’s father in The Rise of Skywalker

I tend to keep very close tabs on the latest reports and rumors and speculation regarding Star Wars, but I actually had missed the theory that suggested Richard E. Grant was playing General Hux’s father in The Rise of Skywalker – that is, until Vanity Fair’s recent issue addressed that speculation.

So I don’t know how common this theory was, but let’s put it to rest: Richard E. Grant is not playing Hux’s father.  Grant will be playing a character named Allegiant General Pryde, a First Order officer, and we got our first look at him in this recent issue.

In case you were wondering, we actually do know quite a bit about Hux’s father, a man named Brendol Hux who helped to form the First Order.  Hux loyally served the Galactic Empire, but after the Battle of Endor, he was appointed as a member of Gallius Rax’s Shadow Council as one of the leaders of the Imperial remnant.  But after the Empire’s final defeat at the Battle of Jakku, Brendol Hux was part of a contingent that retreated into the Unknown Regions to meet up with the Super Star Destroyer Eclipse, ready to rebuild an even stronger Empire.  Hux did indeed help rebuild the Empire, into the First Order, and as a General he oversaw the training program of the First Order – including recruiting a warrior named Phasma.

But recruting Phasma turned out to be a fatal error for the elder Hux.  His son, Armitage, conspired with Phasma to kill him.  Hux wanted it done, but it was Phasma who carried it out, killing Brendol with a beetle from her homeworld of Parnassos, rendering a painful death for the First Order General.  That paved the way for Armitage to take over his father’s role, but also for Phasma’s past to be kept secret.

So, in other words, here’s my point: any speculation that Richard E. Grant was playing General Hux’s father ignores the established Star Wars canon.  General Hux’s actual father, Brendol Hux, has been a very prominent player in several novels, including the Aftermath books and “Phasma.”  And his death is made clear, as he was betrayed and murdered according to the scheming of Armitage and Phasma.

There you have it.  Not only does Grant playing Hux’s father not at all line up with anything that we’ve heard (because we know Hux’s father’s fate), but because now we know his character name (and it’s not the same one as Hux’s father’s name).  So please, fans, speculate responsibly.