Star Wars Black Series Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard is The Last Jedi’s most visually inventive design contribution — eight crimson-armoured warriors in Snoke’s throne room whose varied weapons and fight choreography give the film’s central action sequence its character. Three figures cover two distinct versions: the TLJ originals and the Mandalorian-era Imperial variant.

The Praetorian Guard in Star Wars

The Elite Praetorian Guard are Snoke’s personal protectors — the Supreme Leader’s equivalent of the Emperor’s Royal Guard taken several steps further in both visual drama and combat capability. Where the original trilogy’s Royal Guard stand silently in red robes carrying force pikes, the Praetorian Guard fight actively, using varied weapon configurations that give each of the eight warriors a distinct tactical role in the throne room sequence.

The design is one of The Last Jedi’s most deliberate visual choices. The all-red armour — articulated plates over a flowing garment — combines the ceremonial gravity of the Royal Guard’s aesthetic with the functional combat engineering the Praetorian Guard needs to actually fight at the level the sequence requires. The multiple weapon types mean that the fight between Rey and Kylo and the eight guards isn’t a single choreographic pattern repeated — it’s eight distinct encounters happening simultaneously around two combatants, each guard requiring different tactical responses.

Their design also communicates something about Snoke’s relationship to Imperial tradition. He’s not reproducing the Emperor’s aesthetic directly but he’s clearly drawing on it — the crimson, the exclusive proximity to the Supreme Leader, the role as the last line of personal defence. It’s the First Order inheriting the Empire’s visual vocabulary while developing its own.

The Mandalorian-era Imperial Praetorian Guard variant extends the concept into the post-Snoke period — the crimson warriors now associated with Imperial Remnant operations rather than the Supreme Leader’s throne room. Their presence in The Mandalorian connects the late-series Imperial power structure to the visual tradition established by the sequel trilogy.

The TLJ Figures

The Red Line Elite Praetorian Guard from 2017 is the launch-era release — the throne room warrior at the production quality of the Last Jedi release wave. As a fully armoured figure with no exposed face, the pre-Photo Real gap is largely irrelevant. The armour design, weapon, and overall silhouette are accurate.

The TLJ Galaxy Collection Praetorian Guard from 2022 is the updated version — improved articulation and production finish at current standards, the same design at better quality. For the Throne Room of Snoke display, this is the recommended figure.

Army Building

The Praetorian Guard is one of the sequel trilogy’s better army-building targets. The throne room sequence has eight of them in it, and even two or three figures alongside the Kylo Ren and Rey TLJ releases creates a visually compelling scene display that communicates the scale of the fight. The all-red armour against the crimson throne room backdrop is one of The Last Jedi’s strongest colour choices, and multiples at 6-inch scale carry that visual impact.

The production era parity between the Red Line and TLJ Galaxy Collection versions is worth noting for army building. Both cover the same design with the same fully armoured approach — the difference is articulation quality and finish rather than a dramatic visible gap at display distance. Using a mix of both production eras for multiples is a practical cost consideration without a significant display penalty.

The Mandalorian Variant

The Imperial Praetorian Guard from the Mandalorian 2025 sub-line covers the variant that appears in The Mandalorian’s later seasons — the crimson warriors recontextualised in the Imperial Remnant’s post-Snoke operations. The design carries the same visual DNA as the TLJ version but in the Mandalorian sub-line context.

For collectors building the Imperial Remnant Defense display at its most comprehensive, the Mandalorian variant extends the crimson armour aesthetic into that display’s era. For the TLJ throne room specifically, the Galaxy Collection TLJ version is the correct choice.

The Emperor’s Royal Guard Connection

The Praetorian Guard and the Emperor’s Royal Guard are the same role two generations apart — Supreme Leader protection, red armour, the last line before the most powerful person in the galactic order. Displaying both figures together tells the visual history of that role: the robed ceremonial guard of the Original Trilogy and the armoured combat warriors of the sequel trilogy, the same tradition evolved by the different needs of different rulers.

The comparison makes both figures more interesting in a display context. Either alone is a strong anonymous soldier type; together they’re an argument about how institutions persist and adapt.

The Praetorian Guard is also worth noting as one of the sequel trilogy’s better figure investments for army building specifically. The Emperor’s Royal Guard has two releases; the Praetorian Guard has three across two eras. The accessibility of the TLJ Galaxy Collection version at standard retail makes them one of the more practical crimson army-building targets in the line, and the visual payoff of multiples in the throne room display is significant enough to justify the investment.

For the Throne Room of Snoke display specifically: two or three Praetorian Guard figures alongside the TLJ GC Kylo Ren, TLJ GC Rey, and the Snoke figure creates the scene more completely than any named character figures alone could. The anonymous soldiers are the display’s visual anchor in a way that’s specific to this sequence.

All Praetorian Guard Figures in the Black Series

Check off the figures you own with the Black Series Checklist.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Characters. Related: Human | Throne Room of Snoke | Imperial Remnant Defense | Emperor’s Royal Guard.