It’s been almost three years since the Star Wars sequel trilogy was completed, and although Kylo Ren/Ben Solo (Adam Driver) he became a key character, the sequels failed to unlock his potential. From the very beginning, Kylo Ren was advertised as a morally ambiguous warrior of the dark side. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ren killed San Tekka with his lightsaber and ordered Phasma to slaughter the entire village, thus making one of the most menacing representations of the characters. Ren also impaled his father, Han Solo, to death at the Starkiller base.
Ryan Johnson’s controversial blockbuster “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” focused on the vulnerable side of Kylo Ren and his connection of the Force with Rey. Ren destroyed his mask in a fit of rage after humiliating Snoke. The film then ended with Kylo Ren leading the First Order, thereby laying the groundwork for him to become the main villain in the subsequent sequel. However, “Star Wars: Skywalker. Sunrise” smoothed out his character by bringing back Emperor Palpatine. Instead of developing existing characters, director J.J. Abrams and writer Chris Terrio introduced unsubstantiated new characters who added almost nothing to an already poorly written story.
The potential of Kylo Ren as a supporter of the dark side was not sufficiently used in the sequel trilogy. During the development of The Force Awakens, Ren was called the “Jedi Assassin” before his name was officially chosen. Despite the fact that Kylo was known as the “Jedi Killer” in the rank of the First Order for preventing the restoration of the Jedi Order, Kylo’s attempt to hit Luke Skywalker with his lightsaber was unsuccessful in their duel “The Last Jedi”. Therefore, Kylo’s mention of the Jedi Assassin made no sense. Kylo has been shown to be in conflict between the dark and light sides, but his connection to the dark side has never been as strong as Anakin’s.
Marvel’s “The Rise of Kylo Ren,” a canonical comic book miniseries written by Charles Soul, further debunked the chronicle that Ben Solo was a Jedi assassin or destroyed Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Temple. It turned out that Palpatine unleashed a Storm of Force that destroyed the Jedi Temple, killing several Padawans in the process. The rise of Kylo Ren finally dispelled the myth of Ben Solo. It repeated that he was not responsible for the destruction of the Jedi Temple and did not kill Luke or his Padawans.
Kylo Ren/Ben Solo had the most powerful bloodline, as his grandfather was none other than the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker. As the nephew of legendary Jedi master Luke Skywalker, Ben Solo’s potential in the Force was bound to grow rapidly. Therefore, Darth Sidious used Snoke as a cover to persuade Ben Solo to the dark side. It would be interesting to watch the darkest interpretation of Ren, as he was the most compelling character in the sequel trilogy. Despite the fact that Kylo Ren’s character development had flaws in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the subtle execution of the Driver makes the Disney trilogy worth watching.
