J.J. Abrams Explains Kylo Ren’s Motivations In Star Wars: The Force Awakens

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the film.

One of the biggest questions surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens since before it was even released is why exactly the villainous Kylo Ren would idolize Darth Vader when the character ended up returning to the Light in Return of the Jedi.

There have, of course, been numerous theories about this, but now, director J.J. Abrams has provided some insight into why Ren is attempting to finish what Vader started:

“Kylo Ren idolises Darth Vader, not Anakin Skywalker. He idolises what Vader represents and what Vader was trying to do. The idea that Vader didn’t succeed, he was, if you look at it from Ren’s point of view, he was seduced by the enemy and failed because of that seduction. The idea is that Ren wants to complete the thing that Vader started.”

For more from Abrams on Kylo Ren’s turn to the Dark Side, be sure to watch the video above. These comments are very interesting though, and they definitely put a new perspective on the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and why the villain acts the way he does.

The notion that Darth Vader was seduced to the Light must have been put into Kylo’s head by Supreme Leader Snoke, but whether or not we’ll learn more about his fascination with his grandfather in Episode VIII remains to be seen.