Adam Driver Says Kylo Ren Originally Had a Darker Story
Anyone who watched the Star Wars sequel trilogy could tell that the overarching story was disjointed at best.
In fact, there seemed to be more than just a disconnect between the JJ Abrams-led films (The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker) and the Rian Johnson-helmed The Last Jedi. The films actually seemed to contradict each other.


Photo: Disney+
While fans have long speculated that the overarching story of the sequel trilogy was changed as the films were produced, the cast and crew have largely remained silent.


Mandatory Credit: Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock (9289818b)
Interestingly, however, in a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show, Adam Driver revealed that the planned story of Kylo Ren changed drastically during the film’s production.
Kylo Ren Was Not Supposed to be Redeemed
According to Driver, he was initially supposed to be playing a version of “Vader 2.0.”


Photo: Star Wars
“I had an overall arc that in mind that [JJ Abrams] wanted to do. 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,” he revealed.
Even as Kylo Ren’s arc was rewritten and Ben Solo was eventually redeemed, Driver kept the original arc in mind while filming.


Photo: Lucasfilm
“I tried to keep that arc in mind, regardless of whether that wound up not being the journey anyway because it changed while shooting. But I was still focused on that,” he said.
It Was JJ Abrams Who Made the Change
While most fans have blamed Rian Johnson and The Last Jedi for disrupting Abrams’s overall story, Driver explained that his character’s arc did not change until the filming of The Rise of Skywalker.
“With Rian, he took it in a different direction, but it still tracked with the character. And then the last one, it changed into being, you know, about them and the dyad, and things like that. And evolving into Ben Solo. That was never a part of it. He was Ben Solo from the beginning but there was never a version where we’d see Ben Solo when I first signed up for it.”
What Could Have Been
Drivers’ comments both make sense and are somewhat shocking. It is clear from watching the Star Wars sequel trilogy that the franchise had no clue where it was going.


Photo: LucasFilm
Abrams’ original idea, however, would have given the sequel firmer narrative footing. If the sequel trilogy had been about Kylo Ren’s complete fall to the dark side, the trilogy would have had its antagonist.
Then, perhaps, the killing of Snoke could have had more meaning. The franchise also wouldn’t be attempting to redeem a character who killed Han Solo two films later.
Having Kylo as the main antagonist would have also likely forgone the need to resurrect Palpatine, a decision that remains divisive among fans.


Image: Lucasfilm
In the end, the sequel trilogy is what it is. It had its moments of Star Wars fun, even if the story feels disjointed. Still, it is interesting to hear that we almost got a drastically different story.
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