Star Wars’ Kylo Ren Wasn’t Originally Supposed To Be Redeemed, Says Adam Driver

Kylo Ren wasn’t intended to refind himself as Ben Solo. Instead, Ben was going to lose himself as the sith lord more and more throughout the Star Wars sequel trilogy, according to actor Adam Driver.

Variety reports Driver divulged the original plan for Kylo Ren on The Rich Eisen Podcast. “I had an overall arc in mind that [Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams] wanted to do,” the actor said. “His idea was that [Kylo’s] journey was the opposite journey of Vader, where Vader starts the most confident and the most committed to the dark side. And then by the last movie, he’s the most vulnerable and weak. He wanted to start with the opposite.

“This character was the most confused and vulnerable, and by the end of the three movies, he would be the most committed to the dark side. I tried to keep that arc in mind, regardless if that wound up not being the journey anyway, because it changed while shooting.”

This blueprint was clearly tossed aside, as Ben ultimately sacrifices himself to save Rey at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Actress Daisy Ridley, who portrayed Rey, previously disclosed that her character’s past also changed over the course of filming the three Star Wars movies. For instance, Ridley said that upfront “there was toying with an Obi-Wan connection” for Rey. She ultimately ends up with ties to Emperor Palpatine in Episode 9, though disowns this heritage to claim herself as a Skywalker. GameSpot sums up where each main character is at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.

Ridley will actually return as Rey in a new upcoming Star Wars movie. It’s one of three new projects announced by Disney and Lucasfilm this year. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold is working on a film about the dawn of the Jedi, while Dave Filoni will wrap up the stories he’s currently telling on Disney+ with The Mandalorian and Ahsoka in a new movie.

For more, check out GameSpot’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review.