INSANE Star Wars Theory: Luke Skywalker is Kylo Ren
It was bound to happen…the glitz and glamour of the third and final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer is beginning to slowly wane, and now fanboys and girls everywhere must entrench themselves and make ready for the long two months until December 18, and the film’s worldwide theatrical premiere.
And, when diehard fans of any genre have too much time on their hands, between books, seasons of a show, or film sequels, they tend to jump the shark with some pretty far-out theories (See Reddit’s Star Wars Leaks or Star Wars Speculation). So with that in mind, don your tinfoil hat, and let’s dig into the latest insane Star Wars theory.
Luke Skywalker is Kylo Ren
There are two points that are crystal clear from the marketing, official artwork and film’s poster, and the three trailers:
- Luke is nowhere to be seen (unless you count his robotic hand on R2).
- Kylo Ren is a bad dude that isn’t Sith, but is strong in the Dark Side of the Force. We also have not seen his face in the trailers or posters.
In their article on this very same theory, Flickering Myth quotes J.J. Abrams on Kylo Ren’s unique look:
"“The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask. [Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film.”"
In the third trailer — which aired Monday night — Kylo is seen speaking to Darth Vader’s mask, uttering this line: “Nothing will stand in our way…I will finish what you started.” Does Kylo Ren really believe he is speaking to Vader here? Is he a little insane? A villain who is criminally insane and has immense Dark Side power, does have a nice ring to it, especially for a Star Wars film that needs to make a major impact on audiences, as it will pave the way for all the new Star Wars films to come. But what if there is more beneath the surface?
We already know that Adam Driver will be portraying Kylo Ren…at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe. However, the only time we’ve seen Kylo Ren without his mask, was in Vanity Fair’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens photo shoot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz. Among the photos, which appear just to be promotional stills, Adam Driver is shown in the armor of Kylo Ren, sans the mask.
Photo by Annie Leibovitz
As mentioned, the only time we’ve seen who we assume is Luke, came in the second and third trailer, where a hooded character is placing his hand on R2, a fire of some sort dimly lighting the area around the two.
And then there’s Han Solo telling Rey (again from the third trailer) that the stories about the Dark Side and the Jedi are true; an odd pairing if you ask me. Why not just simply say Sith, instead of Dark Side? And why pair Jedi with the latter? Could this be a clue to Luke’s turning to the Dark Side of the Force, after burning the body of his father after the Battle for Endor in Return of the Jedi?
While making it quite clear the Kylo Ren was not a Sith, J.J. Abrams also dropped the bomb the Ren was not his surname, but in fact was the name of the order to which he belonged: The Knights of Ren. Could the reason we haven’t yet seen Kylo or Luke’s face in the trailers be because they are one in the same? Is J.J. Abrams setting us up for a Star Trek: Into Darkness KHAAAAAAAAAAN reveal? If you aren’t familiar with what Abrams did with his second Star Trek film, the director flat-out denied that Khan was part of the film and that Benedict Cumberbatch was not Khan…it was all a lie, or clever ruse, depending on how much of a Star Trek fan you are (yuck).
Back to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Luke and Kylo. How would Kylo come to own the burned mask of Darth Vader, especially when Luke Skywalker was the only one who knew his final fate? A recurring theme of the Original Trilogy, is that Luke constantly battled the desire to turn to the Dark Side. What if watching his father die, and then burning his body while the Rebels celebrated, turned Luke? Who was the last person to see the body of Darth Vader? Luke.
That’s why this scene is so poignant, it harkens back to Luke watching the body of his father burn. Adam Driver can still be Kylo Ren, and Luke doesn’t have to be part of some super secret conspiracy. However, it would not be that much of a stretch to see that Luke himself created the Knights of Ren, before withdrawing from the galaxy and becoming a reclusive hermit, living in a cave on a remote planet somewhere.
In fact, the fans that buy into this particular theory, believe that Luke is part of this scene, which they think is a flashback of sorts, as Kylo seems to be holding another lightsaber in his left hand:
It remains to be seen whether or not Luke is Kylo Ren, or the founder of the Knights of Ren, or just a former member of the order, but there is certainly some mysterious secrecy involving both Luke and Kylo, and being a fan of J.J. Abrams films, I would not discount his proclivity for dropping a huge surprise-bomb — especially in a film that the die-hard fans think they have figured out — that blows all your other theories about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to bits. December 18 cannot get here fast enough.
H/T – Flickering Myth
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