Kylo Ren Is Returning To Star Wars?
Should Star Wars further explore Kylo Ren?
This article is more than 2 years old
Say what you will about the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but Kylo Ren was one of the best characters those post-Return of the Jedi films gave us. Sure, he wasn’t the scariest Sith lord we have ever encountered, nor was he the most gifted with a lightsaber, but he had a compelling arc that was severely watered down in the abysmal saga-capper The Rise of Skywalker. Now, we have caught wind of a new Kylo-centric rumor, one that would see the tragic villain return to the Star Wars universe.
According to WeGotThisCovered, Lucasfilm is reportedly looking for a younger actor to play the lost Solo child in a Kylo Ren prequel. Yes, that means Adam Driver will not reprise his role if the creative team decides to go this route. This is still just a rumor at this point, but it would definitely be a nice way for Lucasfilm to redeem the awful storytelling on full display in the sequel trilogy. A number of this particular source’s scoops have proven accurate in the past, but it is also worth remembering that this would be a deviation from the direction Lucasfilm seems to be taking.
It is not clear whether this reported prequel will be a movie or a show, but if it does end up happening, it will probably—no, definitely—chronicle events that we glimpsed in flashbacks in Rian Johnson’s divisive The Last Jedi and also in conversations between characters introduced throughout the trilogy. It would probably work best as a show. I can see the various events that helped transform Ben Solo into Kylo Ren being structured and packaged as a limited series.
Any other time would not really work. We saw the conclusion to this character’s story, and it was not awesome. If you need a refresher, here is a quick one: Last we saw Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, he died in Rey’s arms after sharing a final kiss with her, marking both his redemption and the realization of a romance that had been building for years. I guess we are supposed to forget the fact that he murdered his father and massacred countless people? And that Rian Johnson effectively set him up as the big bad of the trilogy in The Last Jedi? Anyway, that pretty much rules out a sequel series to the sequel trilogy, but who knows? Crazier things have happened in the Star Wars universe.
In addition to the potential Kylo Ren prequel, there are a ton of really exciting projects coming up for Star Wars fans. We have got the highly anticipated third season of The Mandalorian (which Jon Favreau reportedly wants complete control of), Rangers of the New Republic, Ahsoka Tano, and The Book of Boba Fett. These shows will air on Disney+ and are supposedly building toward a huge crossover event. Heir to the Empire, maybe? On the animated side of things, we have The Clone Wars spin-off, The Bad Batch, to which we can look forward.
What do you think of a Kylo Ren series?
