“I know where you come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren…the First Order rose from the dark side, you did not…You may try [to show me the dark side], but you cannot deny the truth that is your family.”
–Jedi Lor San Tekka, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
A powerful opening dialogue between antagonist Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and protagonist Jedi Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Throughout the film, we learn very little about Kylo Ren (or Ben Solo’s) background and turn to the dark side. However, fans learned about a mysterious group known as “The Knights of Ren,” but nothing further.
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not yet seen “The Force Awakens,” turn back now, as there are spoilers below.
Who Is Kylo Ren?
Most Star Wars fans came to recognize throughout the film that Kylo Ren was actually the son of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and the late Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa—better known to fans as Ben Solo. This was confirmed towards the end of the film as Ren drove his lightsaber through his father’s chest, completing his turn to the dark side.
It was still frustrating that fans still didn’t know very much about Ren/Solo in the film, but hey, that’s what its sequel, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was for. Right?
In the “The Last Jedi,” fans learned about why Solo turned to the dark side, betraying his former master and uncle, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil), and joining forces with Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order. However, as Skywalker reminisces his tale with Daisy Ridley’s Rey, we learn that there was still much more to be learned about Solo/Ren’s turn to the dark side.
This past week, a report from We Got This Covered announced that Lucasfilm and Disney still have big plans surrounding Kylo Ren’s future—revealing that a Star Wars prequel focusing on Ben Solo is currently in development, and Driver expecting to reprise his role as the former padawan.
Thankfully, fans will no longer be tormented by what the hell the Knights of Ren are, how they came about, and obviously, how and why Driver’s character disposed of them all—aside from his lust of power and instructions from former master, Snoke.
The Rise of Skywalker
It is probably safe to assume that Driver’s character as Ren will come to an end, one way or another in The Rise of Skywalker, which is set to be the final film in the Skywalker Saga.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will arrive in theaters on December 20.