Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Who Is Kylo Ren?

The following contains spoilers related to J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Adam Driver's character, Kylo Ren. So if you do not want to know why Kylo Ren isn't called Kylo Vader, or Darth Ren, and other little pieces of information about the character, click here.

In 1977, George Lucas introduced one of the most terrifying movie villains ever seen outside of horror movies, Darth Vader. His imposing posture, killer lack of tolerance for failure, and mastery of the force fueled Darth Vader's rise into becoming an icon, but perhaps the one thing that truly stayed was his look. The sight of an expressionless dark figure wearing a black mask catapulted the character into cinematic lore.

When the first pieces of promotional content for J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit, many looked at Adam Driver's Kylo Ren and immediately draw comparisons between both characters. Now, speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Abrams briefly addresses Ren's look, and how it is a nod to Vader.

"The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask," Abrams told EW. "[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film."

The very first thing we saw of Kylo Ren was his back, followed by that distinctive sound of a lightsaber being turned on, and three beams coming out of his very unique hilt, which according to Abrams the character built himself.

"The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character," Abrams says.

In the first Star Wars (1977) movie, Luke was a nobody that challenged and ultimately crippled the Empire. Is Ren the same but with a different allegiance?

"As you see in the best of storytelling, and no doubt the best of Star Wars, these are tales in which an every person has to step up. And I think that what makes Ren so unique is that he isn’t as fully formed as when we meet a character such as Darth Vader," Abrams says. "And I think that there are two sides to the Force. Both sides, arguably, would see themselves as the hero of their story, and I think that applies here."

In Star Wars canon (and non-canon), Darth is a title given to certain Sith lords. Among the most recognizable wearers, are Darth Maul and of course Darth Vader, so why isn't Kylo named Darth Ren?

"He is a character who came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren."

When Abrams was first announced has the director of the then untitled The Force Awakens, I heard and read many commentaries of people complaining about how he was just there to give fans something familiar to chew on. Well, with the introduction of this mysterious new order or offshoot of an older one, Abrams and writer Lawrence Kasdan seem to be trying to expand the universe into new galaxies.

Of Kylo, the filmmaker also said that "he is not your prototypical mustache-twirling bad guy. He is a little bit more complex than that, and it was a great joy to work with Adam Driver on this role, because he threw himself into it in a deep and remarkable way."

Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, also chimed in and said, "I’ve written four Star Wars movies now, and there’s never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays. I think you’re going to see something that’s brand new to the saga."

As for what sets the character apart, Kasdan says, "he’s full of emotion," before adding that "no matter how we express ourselves in the world, whether we hide it and act very calm or whether we’re very out there and demonstrative, everybody’s roiling with emotion. And you want your characters to be that way, too. Then they have to deal with their emotions as best they can, with what they are."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18.

Source - EW

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