Rian Johnson famously brought the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy in some unexpected directions with The Last Jedi, but while the filmmaker clearly had a fair amount of creative freedom on the project, it’s still a safe bet that the movie had to follow a few guidelines in its general trajectory, meaning that Johnson probably has at least a vague idea of where the story is all headed with Star Wars: Episode IX.
It’s therefore not too farfetched to think that he might have been teasing future developments for Kylo Ren in a 2018 Q&A that’s started making the rounds again. For context, the filmmaker was reflecting on the third act scene where Adam Driver’s character is watching the Force projection of Han Solo’s dice fade in his hand while the Resistance completes their narrow escape. For Johnson, this is a moment that’s worthy of our attention for the questions it raises about Kylo.
“I think that’s such a beautiful notion of ‘What does he regret in that moment,’” Johnson said. “The same way I think about in Revenge of the Sith, that mask is coming down, that beautiful shot of Anakin [Skywalker] and his eyes right before it goes over and you see that glimpse of ‘Is it fear? Is it regret? What is it? What is going through his mind at that moment?’ That’s that kind of moment for Ben and I don’t want to put that moment in your guys’ head. I feel like that’s a moment that everyone should read into themselves.”
Though Johnson is essentially just commenting on the content of his own movie, you can see why some fans are interpreting these remarks as a tease of a subsequent redemption for Kylo in Episode IX. At the very least, the director apparently thinks it’s important to note that even after assuming the position of Supreme Leader, there may still be some humanity left in the villain. Of course, you could also make the case that this spark of hope would make a complete embrace of the dark side feel all the more tragic, so perhaps this character arc could still go either way.
But regardless of what Johnson knows or is willing to tease about Star Wars: Episode IX, you can expect to see Kylo continue to wrestle with conscience when the film hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.
