Curious fans may be pre-occupied with the wayward Luke Skywalker and Snoke’s true origins, but at the heart of Star Wars: The Last Jedi is Rey (Daisy Ridley) and the mercurial Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
They’re two halves of the same coin, it seems, which goes some way to explaining why The Last Jedi‘s trailer campaign continues to draw parallels between the two Force-users. On the one hand, Rey is a Jakku orphan destined for greatness (villainy?), while Kylo Ren is the conflicted apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, who may well have a master of his own, if one particular fan theory holds true.
But as December 15th draws near, Star Wars fan theories are a dime a dozen, so unless it comes from Lucasfilm directly, it’s best approaching each morsel with a heightened sense of caution.
And though she stops short of mentioning specifics, Daisy Ridley recently spoke to USA Today about the Rey/Kylo dynamic, and why it’s so important to The Last Jedi‘s arc.
These are two people who represent two very different sides of life, good and evil. That’s going to be explored more in this.
It’s certainly not the first time that Rey’s sworn enemy has come up in conversation; in fact, writer-director Rian Johnson firmly believes that Kylo Ren is just as much of a protagonist as Ridley’s Resistance fighter.
Having secured his place within Lucasfilm’s far-away galaxy for the next generation – Johnson recently signed on to helm a brand new trilogy replete with original characters and a new story – the filmmaker knows a thing or two about where his characters are headed…Kylo Ren included.
Rey and Kylo are almost two halves of our protagonist. It’s not like Kylo is our Vader. In the original trilogy, Vader is the father — he’s the one you’re afraid of and who you want the approval of. Whereas Kylo represents anger and rebellion, the sometimes healthy — and sometimes not — desire to disconnect from the parents. It’s my favorite kind of quote-unquote bad guy, because you can genuinely see what their weakness is.
Expect that dynamic to unfold next month when Star Wars: The Last Jedi lights up theaters the world over. It’ll be followed by the conclusive Episode IX in 2019, so don’t expect to bear witness to all the answers on December 15th.