Kylo Ren is expected to be the big new bad guy in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens. Who is he exactly and why did he turn to the dark side of the force?
We probably won’t know the secret identity of Kylo Ren and his motives until Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens actually comes out. However, many fans are already speculating who the character and what his motives might be.
Some fans are asking themselves how did Kylo Ren know the dark side of the force? After all, the Sith perished after the deaths of both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi. The only character that still has force powers of any kind is of course Luke Skywalker.
One theory is that Kylo Ren could be a disgruntled former student of Luke Skywalker. If Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens follows the Jedi Knight video games, Luke starts up his own Jedi Academy. Much like Professor X does in the X-Men, Luke recruits and finds gifted people and teaches them the ways of the force.
It’s entirely possible Kylo Ren was a student of Luke’s, but becomes the evil character we see him in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens. Since the Sith has all perished, Luke is the only character that could have taught him the ways of the force and how to use a lightsaber.
Another theory going around is that Kylo Ren is the son of Princess Leia and Han Solo. As we know from Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia knows the way of the force too as she is Darth Vader’s daughter and sister to Luke. She and Han Solo hooked up at the end of the movie, and it’s likely they had children after that.
One scenario that could happen in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens is that Han Solo thinks his son died ages ago. However, Kylo Ren could confront him and admits that he’s his son. This will mirror the famous scene from The Empire Strikes Back. It will also explain again why Kylo Ren knows the ways of the force since he’s a part of the Skywalker bloodline.
A more traditional route could be that Kylo Ren is just a renegade Sith that has been in hiding until he shows himself off in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens. In The Phantom Menace, the Jedi were caught off guard when Darth Maul appeared out of nowhere. Little did they know that Emperor Palpatine was still alive and keeping the Sith secret for many years.
It’s still interesting to speculate on how Kylo Ren knows the knowledge of the force. It was made clear in Return of the Jedi that only Luke and Leia have that power after Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine died. No other Jedi survived as Yoda and Obi-Wan both passed away too.
Do you feel Kylo Ren has some relationship with the Skywalker family in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens? Or do you think he’s just a random bad guy causing havoc like Darth Maul did back in The Phantom Menace?
