“Writing Kylo Ren is just so much
fun. Star Wars boils down to the transition from adolescence into adulthood. That’s the heart of these films and Rey is most obviously the one that hangs on. But it’s also Kylo. In the originals you project entirely onto Luke, while Vader is the scary other — he’s the minotaur. The fascinating thing about Kylo and Rey is that they’re two sides of something. We can all relate to Kylo: to that anger of being in the turmoil of adolescence and figuring out who he’s going to be as a man; dealing with anger and wanting to separate from his family. He’s not Vader — at least, he’s not Vader yet — and that’s something I really wanted to get into.”
Many believed Kylo had reached the point of no return when he killed Han, but that was an action that made him weaker, and not stronger. Given that the character begins
The Last Jedi in a rehabilitation state, his turmoil should be quite prevalent in the sequel. This is one of the benefits of having
Episode VIII pick up just moments after its predecessor. It forces Kylo to deal with the immediate consequences of what he did as he continues his evolution. Interestingly enough, a Snoke
Last Jedi action figure that recites alleged phrases from the movie seemingly taunts Kylo Ren by saying,
“Your emotions have made you weak.” All of this arguably makes Kylo quite the sympathetic figure as he is torn between the legacy of his family lineage and desire to become his own man.
As for Snoke, Johnson reiterated what he has said before, stating that the Supreme Leader’s entire backstory/history will not be revealed in his film. His reasoning is he only wanted to provide that information
“where it serves the story,” which is an approach many viewers can get behind.
The Last Jedi has a lot on its plate, so it’d be better if it didn’t get bogged down in filler and told the audience only what was necessary. This is how the original trilogy handled things, so Johnson is working with a successful template. Hopefully it works for
Episode VIII as well, and the saga gets another thrilling chapter.