Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was introduced in The Force Awakens, the first film of the sequel trilogy as the main antagonist. He subsequently appeared in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. He also appears in the animated series Star Wars Resistance, and the television specials The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special and Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales. Ren is portrayed by Adam Driver in all three sequel trilogy films.
At birth, Ren is given the name Ben Solo by his parents Han Solo and Leia Organa. He is trained as a Jedi by his uncle Luke Skywalker, but is seduced to the dark side of the Force by Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. He assumes the name Kylo Ren and aspires to be as powerful as his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Throughout the sequel trilogy, Ren is an enforcer of the First Order, the leader of the Knights of Ren, and an adversary of Rey. He kills both his father and Snoke, then seizes the position of Supreme Leader. Ren eventually discovers that he shares a connection with Rey called a "Force dyad". He rejects the dark side and helps her defeat the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, then uses the last of his life force to revive her when she collapses.
In addition to appearing in the films and television series, Kylo Ren has also appeared in related media and merchandising. Driver's performance has received acclaim from critics and fans. For his performance in The Force Awakens, Driver won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Star Wars actor since Alec Guinness to win the award. Driver received a second nomination in the same category for his performance in The Rise of Skywalker.
Concept and creation
As late as March 2014, the main antagonist of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was only known to the production team as "Jedi Killer" and had gone through numerous unapproved design attempts. That same month, Glyn Dillon's design for the character's costume was finally approved. Director J. J. Abrams wanted the design of the character's mask to be memorable to a child and stated that "the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask." According to concept designer Doug Chiang, the character "takes on persona of to haunt Luke". According to The Force Awakens costume designer Michael Kaplan:Adam Driver's casting in the film in an unnamed role was first announced on April 29, 2014. Kylo Ren was first seen from behind, but still not named, in the 88-second The Force Awakens teaser trailer released by Lucasfilm on November 28, 2014, wielding a jagged red lightsaber with a crossguard. The name Kylo Ren, as well as the character's design, was revealed by Entertainment Weekly in a Lucasfilm-designed Topps-style trading card mock-up on December 11, 2014; a character named "Kybo Ren" was previously featured in the 1985 animated series Star Wars: Droids. A May 2015 Vanity Fair photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz confirmed that Driver would be portraying Kylo.
According to other cast members, Driver is a method actor, meaning that he sometimes stayed in character on set as Ren and left his mask on between scenes. Driver explained that his goal was "to forget you're in Star Wars and treat it like any other job that's filled with moments and problems", because from the perspective of the characters living within the film's universe, "Darth Vader is real."
Character
Abrams told Empire in August 2015, "Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the dark side of the Force." Abrams had previously stated that the character "came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren."Robbie Collin of The Telegraph described Ren as "a hot-headed, radicalised dark side extremist, whose red lightsaber splutters and crackles as violently as his temper". Abrams noted, "The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character." The Telegraph also explains that Ren's wild and erratic temper and "angsty" instability make him dangerous. Melissa Leon of The Daily Beast describes Ren's use of the Force as "formidable", citing his ability to stop a blaster shot mid-air, immobilize victims and probe their minds against their will.
Kasdan told Entertainment Weekly in August 2015, "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," noting that the character is "full of emotion". Abrams explained, "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... is not your prototypical mustache-twirling bad guy. He is a little bit more complex than that." Driver said in December 2015 that, despite the visual similarities to Vader, Ren is "unlike any villain the franchise has seen". He explained:
Driver claimed that he was privy to several details of Ren's backstory during the making of the films. According to Lev Grossman, who interviewed the actor in the lead-up to The Rise of Skywalker, Driver reported that "both Han Solo and Leia were way too self-absorbed and into this idea of themselves as heroes to really be attentive parents in the way a young and tender Ren really needed." The backstory of how Ben Solo became Kylo Ren was elaborated upon in a prequel graphic novel titled The Rise of Kylo Ren, which was released by Marvel Comics from December 2019 to March 2020.
Certain aspects of Ren's overall arc across the three films of the sequel trilogy were also known to Driver from the start of production on the first film. He claimed that he "had one piece of information of where it was all going...and things were building towards that". He later clarified:
When asked by IGN in December 2017 if he believed Ren was capable of redemption, The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson replied, "Yeah...are you kidding? Darth Vader was worse than Kylo ever was, I think, and Vader got redeemed." Citing the complexity of the character, Johnson articulated, "I don't see the point of trying to get behind his mask and learn more about him if all we're going to learn is 'Yeah, he's just an evil bad guy that needs to be killed.'" The Rise of Skywalker co-writer Chris Terrio also supported this position through comparing Ren with Vader. According to Terrio, "Vader was complicit in genocide and cruelty and depravity. Yet there is this inherent optimism in Star Wars that the light in you is never truly gone. That you can still redeem yourself right up until the last minute – which, in Vader's case, was literally true...Leia never really gave up hope that Ren could be redeemed, and she knew that Rey was probably the way that it would happen." Abrams further elaborated on this point:
The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Kylo Ren and Rey are a "dyad" in the Force, which Terrio described as "sort of soulmate in the Force" and "twins of fate, twins of destiny". Their relationship was also described as a romance by both Abrams and Johnson, with Abrams explaining that, during the production of The Force Awakens, he perceived them having as much as a "brother-sister thing" as a "romantic thing" because of their spiritual connection in the Force, while Johnson explains the intimacy developed between the two characters in The Last Jedi because of their interactions during the Force connections. Johnson also explains about Ren's appeal for Rey to join him during The Last Jedi, comparing it with the love confession in the film Notting Hill :
Appearances
''The Force Awakens''
Kylo Ren was introduced in the 2015 film The Force Awakens as a warlord of the First Order, a tyrannical regime that arose from the remains of the Galactic Empire. After arriving on Jakku to retrieve a map containing the coordinates where Luke Skywalker can be found, Ren kills an elderly man named Lor San Tekka. He orders his stormtroopers to slaughter the local civilians, then captures the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. Ren learns that Poe has entrusted the map to BB-8, an astromech droid.It is revealed that Ren is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. He was given the name Ben by his parents, and was trained as a Jedi by Luke, his uncle. He was brought to the dark side of the Force by Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. After Ren is alerted to the presence of BB-8 on Takodana, he travels there and captures the scavenger Rey, who has seen the map. While interrogating her, he realizes she is strong with the Force. She resists his powers and experiences his emotions, realizing that he is afraid he will never be as powerful as his grandfather, Darth Vader.
Han arrives on Starkiller Base and confronts his son. He implores him to abandon the dark side, warning him that Snoke will kill him once he has control of the galaxy. Ren at first seems receptive to his father's request, but then ignites his lightsaber and kills him. Enraged, Han's friend Chewbacca fires at Ren, wounding him. Ren then pursues Rey and the rogue stormtrooper Finn, who are fleeing the now-unstable base. Finn battles Ren with a lightsaber, but Ren overpowers and severely injures him. Rey then takes up the lightsaber and, using the Force, begins to overcome Ren. Before the duel is finished, they are separated by a seismic fissure created by the collapsing base. Rey and Chewbacca escape with the unconscious Finn as Snoke orders General Hux to bring Ren to him to complete his training.
''The Last Jedi''
Ren returns in The Last Jedi. He begins having conversations with Rey, whom he connects with through the Force. Rey learns from Luke why Ben Solo turned to the dark side: Luke had seen a vision of the destruction he would cause, and was briefly tempted to kill him in his sleep; when Ben awoke and saw Luke with his lightsaber drawn, he turned on his uncle and destroyed the Jedi Temple. Rey believes there is still good in Ren, and resolves to bring him back.Ren is reproached by Snoke for his failure to defeat Rey, and Ren subsequently tries to prove himself by leading an attack on a Resistance starship. He hesitates to destroy it when he senses that his mother is on board, but his wingmen blast apart the ship's bridge, which almost kills her. When Rey arrives to confront Ren, he captures her and brings her to Snoke, who tortures her before ordering Ren to kill her. Instead of complying, Ren kills Snoke, then slays his guards with Rey's assistance. Ren then asks Rey to join him in ruling the galaxy. She hesitates and then refuses, realizing that Ren will not abandon the dark side. The two engage in a Force struggle over Luke's lightsaber, which causes it to break in half; Ren is knocked unconscious.
After Rey escapes, Ren frames her for Snoke's assassination. He uses the Force to strangle Hux until he acknowledges him as the new Supreme Leader, then launches an attack on the Resistance base on Crait. When Luke appears during the assault, Ren orders his men to fire on him. The weapons have no effect, and Ren decides to face Luke alone. Luke soon reveals that he is only present as a Force projection, which served as a distraction to allow the Resistance fighters to escape.