Adam Driver may have his Star Wars days behind him, but a lot of people still love him for playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. Ben Solo’s arc may have ended, but Driver talks a bit about the original plans for his character before Colin Trevorrow was fired and J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio decided to change the story.
Talking to The Rich Eisen Show (via @adamdriverarchv), Driver shares how Kylo Ren’s story was supposed to be a reversed Vader where he starts out unsure and ends fully committed to the Dark Side. Watch this:
NEW • Adam Driver 📷 talking about Star Wars on The Rich Eisen Show December 12, 2023 — Clip
Radio TV Appearance | The Rich Eisen Show | Interview | 1080p | 12.12.23 pic.twitter.com/NFnyiMJFes
— Adam Driver Archive (@adamdriverarchv) December 12, 2023
“[J.J. Abrams’] idea was almost the opposite journey of Vader where Vader starts the most confident, the most committed to the Dark Side, and by the last movie he’s the most vulnerable and weak; and he wanted to start at the opposite where this character was the most confused and vulnerable, and by the end of the three movies be the most committed to the Dark Side.”
Driver said that this was the original direction, and anyone who read the script for Trevorrow’s Duel of the Fates will also know that this was the original plan for the trilogy as well. In that version Kylo Ren dies in a final climactic duel with Rey (but Trevorrow does say that Kylo Ren manages to redeem himself last minute with ‘the light in his eyes’).
As a fan of The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker was honestly a huge punch in the face, but over time, you do get to appreciate a lot of things about it, including Rey’s arc and how they were able to bring Ben Solo back to the light.
We don’t know what they have planned for the future, but I am hoping that we get a trilogy that feels original and fantastic; let the fanboys keep their fanservice Mandalorian shows.
