In the original “Star Wars” films, Darth Vader made the wearing of a helmet by a Sith Lord iconic and now we’re seeing this practice play again by Kylo Ren in J.J. Abrams’ versions. Ben Solo may have smashed his helmet in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘ but it will be back in a symbolic role, and possibly more, in ‘Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker‘ according to both Adam Driver and Abrams.
In an interview with Collider, Abrams explains:
“Part of it is about his commitment to the Dark Side. As you’ll see, he’s becoming Supreme Leader…his focus has been a little bit more on practical matters. He’s assumed that position within the First Order. It represents his re-committing to the Dark Side, to the Knights of Ren, and then because of a very specific thing that he’s about to go do. As you see in the story, there’s a reason for it. It might not be clear at this moment.”
However, it might not just be symbolism. We’ve seen Rey and Kylo dueling and smashing the podium which Vader’s mask rests upon. It isn’t clear if this is the scene in question, but something “surprising” could be coming according to Driver:
“Hopefully [in The Rise of Skywalker], there’s a good moment where you really see him. Maybe, I hope. We were talking to people before about masks, and that’s such a huge iconography of Star Wars that we took for granted that we had to reimagine. What is it about someone who hides himself? Or presents a person to the world, but underneath is something different. Maybe there’s a moment in this [movie] that’s surprising.”
Saying that you almost now have to believe that something surprising is on the horizon.
You can watch the interview in the video below:
Are you looking forward to seeing how Kylo Ren’s helmet plays into the story of ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’? What do you think the importance of it will be? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
