Director Rian Johnson Hints Snoke and Kylo Ren Roles in STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

I can’t wait! In an interview with Empire Magazine, director and writer Rian Johnson was able to give some little tidbits regarding Snoke and Kylo Ren in the upcoming film. The Last Jedi is set to put these characters on a journey. Not all of them will be as you expect.

When talking about Snoke, he’s tight-lipped for the most part. But that’s because there’s really nothing to say. In the prequels we got the whole backstory of both Darth Vader and The Emperor. But it wasn’t always that way. In the original Star Wars films we knew very little about The Emperor and it appears Johnson plans on keeping it that way.

We got the whole story of Palpatine’s rise to power in the prequels, but in the original films he’s exactly what he needs to be, which is just ‘The Emperor. He’s a dark force: the scary thing behind the thing. That was entirely how I approached Snoke. I wasn’t interested in explaining where he came from or telling his history, except where it serves this story.

Frankly, we we have been spoiled as fans in learning as much knowledge as possible from these films. I mean, Sheev Palpatine! I wouldn’t’ve known that was the Emperor’s name if it weren’t for extended lore and behind the scenes on the films. That’s not to say that we won’t learn more about Snoke passed the films, but the films will not be exploring it. I’m quite okay with that!

As for Kylo Ren – he’s a different animal all together. Not only is he a deeply troubled young man, he’s made terrible decisions. However it seems they’re pushing him being a sort of balance for Rey. It’s almost hard to believe that the man who killed his father, our hero Han Solo, could be compared to our protagonist. But it’s true. Humans have both good and bad in them, and according to Johnson, that’s what our hero and villain represent.

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.

We relate to both of these characters in some ways. Which, in a sense, makes it complete. Is that a coy way of saying Rey and Kylo will develop a relationship outside of hatred? We’ll have to find out. But for now, it’s something to think about. Kylo Ren is certainly not a teenager anymore so teen angst isn’t quite in the cards, but he is dealing with emotional trauma. How he will continue to embrace that trauma will be explored in the next two films. And I can’t wait.

What do you think about Johnson’s comments on Snoke and Kylo Ren? Let us know! Be sure to come back to Geek Girl Authority for more Star Wars news. The Last Jedi will be in theaters December 15th.