The Origin Of Kylo Ren: How Star Wars Created Its Best Sequel Trilogy Villain

Summary

• Kylo Ren's origins in the Star Wars sequel trilogy were heavily inspired by George Lucas' original sequel plans, particularly the concept of Leia and Han's son falling to the dark side.
• J.J. Abrams wanted Kylo Ren to be a villain inspired by Darth Vader, with the character evolving from an early draft named "Jedi Killer" to the final incarnation of Kylo Ren.
• Designing Kylo Ren's costume, particularly his helmet, was a challenging process that involved multiple iterations before settling on a black helmet with a chrome lining. The costume was intentionally created to look unfinished, reflecting Kylo Ren's inner turmoil and unfinished emotional journey.

Despite the overall divisiveness of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars fans often agree that Kylo Ren was a fantastic villain whose origins even link to the franchise of old. The sequel trilogy began development almost instantaneously after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. With the goal in mind to reignite the franchise, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy hired filmmaker J.J. Abrams to develop the first installment in what would become a new Star Wars trilogy. While it is hard to imagine the Star Wars franchise stalling now given the upcoming Star Wars movies in development, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the first theatrical film in just over a decade.
As such, a lot of pressure was placed upon the film to deliver the classic Star Wars feeling of the original trilogy after the prequels largely disappointed the masses. This led to a reversion to more familiar plot themes, storylines, and characters. One such character was Adam Driver's Kylo Ren who is often remarked as one of Star Wars' more powerful villains and a bright spot of the controversial sequel trilogy. Given Kylo's fan-favorite status in a series as divisive as the Star Wars sequels, it is worth exploring his origins from the similarities in his character to George Lucas' original sequel plans to his links to Darth Vader.


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