In retrospect, the moment where Kylo Ren destroyed his Vader-esque mask near the beginning of Star Wars: The Last Jedi was an omen of the subversive developments to come, as writer-director Rian Johnson strayed from the nostalgic vision offered by J.J. Abrams in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and embarked on a series of template-breaking twists. But now that Abrams is returning to the fold with the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX, it looks like we could be seeing the reappearance of Kylo’s original, faceless style.
Making Star Wars has relayed word that Ben Solo will be wearing a cracked and repaired version of his old mask, and while we’re still awaiting confirmation of such a development, the idea at least seems highly plausible from a storytelling perspective. For one thing, as the final installment in the current Sequel Trilogy, Episode IX will almost certainly contain a few points of symmetry with The Force Awakens. These callbacks seem all the more inevitable given the involvement once more of Abrams, despite Johnson’s movie willfully cutting short several of the plot threads that its 2015 predecessor set up.
What’s more, though Kylo’s trashing of his own headgear came in a moment of shame and insecurity after Snoke ridiculed him for the accessory, Adam Driver’s character has since turned against his old master, killing the previous big bad of the trilogy and assuming his position as Supreme Leader. With that in mind, Kylo will be looking to do things his way, and that may well include the return of the mask that Snoke once mocked.
Of course, none of this guarantees that Abrams intends to take this particular route, but at the very least, most fans probably wouldn’t object to seeing Kylo’s old helmet once more as the villain’s arc reaches its conclusion. We’ll find out if Star Wars: Episode IX has such a callback in store when the film hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.