Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) Praises Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII Script

Actor Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has gone on record to praise director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII script…

Website Collider recently sat down with The Force Awakens actor Adam Driver, to discuss his newest film project Paterson, and during the interview, the subject of Rian Johnson and Star Wars: Episode VIII was broached.

Driver, who portrays Kylo Ren in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens, had some high praise for director Rian Johnson, and his script for Episode VIII:

"Maybe this is just me thinking of myself, but I’m surprised [because] in their shoes I’d be way more stressed out than [J.J. and Rian] seem to be. Rian is coming into something that we kind of set up and he just took it to the next level in a really great way. He wrote it, too, and Rian’s writing is so clear. I learned a lot of things about my character through his writing."

It’s great to see the confidence and pride, from the actors, placed in Rian Johnson’s work, on Star Wars. Driver continued:

"Some things we talked about before and some things we didn’t. He was working on [the script] while we were still working on the first one. To understand what J.J. was doing and take ownership from there is kind of a remarkable thing. And he’s the most polite, unassuming guy and he was appropriately territorial about some things but would still be the first to admit when something’s not working. A lot of times you need to rise to understand what the script is, and perhaps I’m beginning to be unclear, but he’s a great person to work with."

Adam Driver goes on to discuss the similarities between Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VIII. The actor says the film isn’t necessarily “dark” in tone,  and that the Star Wars audience should be ready for a little “nuance and ambiguity.” Driver also notes that Johnson isn’t dumbing down the script, which makes his character more fun to play.

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This only serves to make me even more excited for Star Wars: Episode VIII. Adam Driver is known for taking his craft very serious, so to see him praise Rian Johnson’s writing, only boosts my confidence in this film. You can read Collider’s interview with Adam Driver, in its entirety, by clicking the link provided.