J.J. Abrams Talks Kylo Ren

To create someone new that Star Wars fans would hate and fear, Abrams says they made the hard choice to kill off someone who definitely made that type of mark, someone we love: a particular scoundrel who also proved he was more heroic than anyone might have guessed back when we first met him.

“Star Wars had the greatest villain in cinema history. So, how you bring a new villain into that world is a very tricky thing,” Abrams told the crowd. “We knew we needed to do something f—king bold. The only reason why Kylo Ren has any hope of being a worthy successor is because we lose one of the most beloved characters.”

If you’ve seen the film, you already know: Kylo Ren, who was born Ben Solo, runs his ragged, crossguard lightsaber straight through the heart of his father — Harrison Ford’s Han Solo.

It’s a crushing moment that comes as Solo, at the behest of the boy’s mother, Leia, reaches out in the hope of finding something good inside the son who has already hurt so many others. The boy had already chosen a new name and a new fate after joining the monstrous Knights of Ren — but the slaying of his father is the final step in his transformation.

The act was intended to be proof — to Ren himself, if no one else — that there was no light left in him.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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