Adam Driver says Star Wars twist in Rise of Skywalker was ‘never meant’ to happen
Actor says JJ Abrams’ trilogy closer trampled all over original plans for Kylo Ren
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Adam Driver’s negative comments about his Star Wars character arc has reignited fan frustrations with the conclusion to the recent trilogy.
The actor, who plays Italian racer Enzo Ferrari in new Michael Mann drama Ferrari, played the villainous Kylo Ren in three Star Wars films. He has now opened up about how his character’s trajectory completely changed from what was originally pitched to him by director JJ Abrams.
Abrams directed The Force Awakens in 2015, but Rian Johnson oversaw the film’s 2017 sequel, The Last Jedi., which mostly ignored plot points introduced in its predecessor. Abrams then returned to conclude the trilogy with The Rise of Skywalker (2019), with the final film panned by some fans of the original franchise.
Kylo Ren is introduced in The Force Awakens as an angsty, murderous villain firmly on the dark side, but finds himself redeemed by the end of the trilogy. In a new interview, Driver has revealed this was not meant to be the case and said he tried to keep the original arc in mind despite the change.
“JJ Abrams walked me through what he wanted to do with the character, but you had to sign up and be like, ‘I’m gonna do it,’ and once I did that, I went to London to star for pre-production,” Driver said on The Rich Eisen Show.
He said he “had an overall arc in mind” that Abrams “wanted to do”, stating: “His idea was that [Kylo Ren’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. I tried to keep that arc in mind, regardless if that wound up not being the journey anyway, because it changed while shooting. But I was still focused on that.”
Driver acknowledged that, while Kylo’s storyline went in a different direction under the guidance of Johnson in The Last Jedi, he believed his scenes in the film still tracked with the character.
However, the Marriage Story star said this was not the case with Abrams’ trilogy closer, saying: “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.”
Driver’s comments have frustrated Star Wars fans all over again, with many reiterating the view that Disney spoiled the trilogy by not delivering a cohesive story across the three films.
“The entire sequel trilogy was a mistake – the way they handled all of the main characters arcs was a disaster,” one fan said, with another sarcastically stating: “What? The Sequel Trilogy didn’t have a plan?!?! What are you gonna tell me next? The sky is blue!?!”
Another chimed in: “I’m literally so sick this is what SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED,” with one Rise of Skywalker critic stating: “It’s so obvious that’s where they were going after The Last Jedi. The last movie does a cowardly 180 on everything.”
Driver will next be seen in in Ferrari, which is being released on 26 December before being added to NOW in January.
Recently, the actor shocked the audience at a Q&A with his candid reply to a “rude” question about the film.
Driver was asked by an audience member: “What do you think about [the] crash scenes? They looked pretty harsh, drastic and, I must say, cheesy for me. What do you think?”
The actor did not hold back with his reply, telling the person: “F*** you? I don’t know. Next question.”
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