Like the original Star Wars trilogy, the sequels enlisted different directors, with Rian Johnson taking the baton from J.J. Abrams for “The Last Jedi.” But while George Lucas spearheaded the narrative flow of the classics (directing “A New Hope” and working closely with Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand on the others), the filmmakers behind the sequel trilogy had distinctly different visions for their franchise entries.
Despite realizing that Kylo Ren was changing in a way he didn’t expect, Adam Driver told Rich Eisen that, in his mind at least, he committed to the character’s story arc as it was pitched to him. “With Rian, he took it in a different direction, but it still tracked with the character,” he said. “And then the last one, it changed into being, you know, about them and the Dyad and things like that. And evolving into Ben Solo. That was never a part of it. He was Ben Solo from the beginning, but there was never a version where we’d see Ben Solo when I first signed up for it.”
Of course, it could be possible that Driver would have gotten what he signed up for before original “Star Wars: Episode IX” writer-director Colin Trevorrow left the project over creative differences with Lucasfilm. Abrams took over directing duties from there, helming what eventually became “The Rise of Skywalker.” If there’s any consolation, Driver at least was lucky enough to have a shot at a full arc for Kylo Ren. Things may have been much different had Disney gone with the plan for George Lucas’ original sequel trilogy instead.
