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The barrage of trailers and teasers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has managed to show off a ton of action without giving too much away about what the heck is actually happening. But if it’s one big change you can notice, it’s the fact that the galaxy’s saddest Sith boi Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has repaired the imposing helmet and mask that he smashed to pieces in The Last Jedi.
When Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff sat down with both Driver and director J.J. Abrams, the duo strongly suggested the helmet has a huge symbolic role to play. For Abrams, it’s not only about Kylo’s commitment to his new position in the First Order, but also fixing the mask has a specific practical purpose.
Image via Disney/Lucasfilm
“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.”
For Driver, unsurprisingly, the matter of Kylo’s mask is a more metaphorical one. The actor cagily spoke to a particular unmasking moment in The Rise of Skywalker that he hopes will illuminate new layers of the character.
Image via Disney/Lucasfilm
“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.”
Check out exactly what they had to say in the player above, and be on the lookout for more of our interviews with the cast and creative team of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. For now, here’s what Oscar Isaac had to say about a possible Poe Dameron TV series coming to Disney+.
