Star Wars: The Last Jedi will see both General Hux and Kylo Ren desperate for power and Snoke’s approval as they compete for his throne. The Force Awakens didn’t just introduce a new batch of heroes to Star Wars canon, but added a younger crop of villains as well. General Hux, Kylo Ren, and Captain Phasma all represented the sinister new face of evil in the galaxy as the First Order. Although Kylo’s allegiances were tested in The Force Awakens and will continue to remain in flux in The Last Jedi, it’s clear that Hux is committed to the cause.


Overseeing the entire First Order and possessing a connection to the Force is Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke may not be a Sith Lord, but it’s clear that he still has much to teach Kylo about the Dark Side. Meanwhile, Snoke’s position as the head of the First Order means Hux looks to him as both a leader and mentor. There were several moments of contention between Hux and Kylo in The Force Awakens, hinting at a type of sibling rivalry the two share in regard to their parental surrogate Snoke. When The Last Jedi picks up their story, it seems the pair’s conflict with one another will have only grown.


The latest issue of Empire has all sorts of insight into Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with new photos of the film’s characters and interviews with the cast. In the issue, Domhnall Gleeson, who plays Hux, discussed how the relationship between his character and Kylo will grow even more desperate and dangerous as they both jockey for Snoke’s favor:

“Because of what happened in the first film, he’s been pushed to a place where his position is in real jeopardy, and people make really bad decisions when they get desperate. Hux and Kylo Ren are vying for power and for Snoke’s attention. They’re both contenders for the throne and Hux is hoping Ren explodes, so that he can take up the mantle. He knows it will be a battle otherwise, one he may very well lose.”

Both Hux and Kylo suffered humiliating losses in The Force Awakens, but the film made it clear the leader of the Knights of Ren is Snoke’s favored ‘son.’ Kylo also looks ready to further test the bounds of the Force and his relationship with Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will only complicate things for the First Order. With Hux desperate to regain Snoke’s trust and Kylo’s wavering sympathies, it seems that the two characters will outright clash as they attempt to follow in Snoke’s footsteps.


Star Wars: The Last Jedi seems primed to reveal more of Snoke’s and Kylo’s backstory, as well as how the two intertwine. Much like Phasma, Hux should have a larger presence in The Last Jedi than he did in The Force Awakens. Indeed, the villains in general should continue to develop in new and interesting ways in writer/director Rian Johnson’s own addition to the greater Star Wars franchise.