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J.J. Abrams Talks Kylo Ren’s Table Of Ashes: Turns Out Kylo Is Seriously Evil

By Liz Kelley
Published on: 12:37 PST, Apr 5, 2016

In a recent interview, The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams revealed aspects of Kylo Ren’s past that are even darker than we guessed.

On Friday — the day that the digital version of Episode VII was released — The Inquisitr published an early look at the bonus material, focusing on the featurette in which Adam Driver and J.J. Abrams talk about Kylo’s past and why he is the way he is.

Surely many would agree that this was an aspect of the film that really needed to be addressed. Originally, J.J. and Disney had expected Kylo Ren to be the beloved bad guy and central obsession for Star Wars fans — especially the younger fans, according to Heroic Girls founder John Marquotte.

“[Disney was] completely blindsided by the reaction to the new Star Wars characters […] They put a huge investment into marketing and merchandizing the Kylo Ren character. They presumed he would be the big breakout role from the film. They were completely surprised when it was Rey everyone identified with and wanted to see more of.”

Despite Disney’s expectations, Finn and Rey have quickly become favorites, leaving Kylo in the dust.

But since the world first glimpsed this addition to The Force Awakens‘ bonus material, J.J. Abrams has revealed new information explaining one of the most subtly intriguing parts of the film — when Kylo places his mask in a heap of ashes during his interrogation of Rey. After all, why ashes? Or more appropriately, why those ashes.

Abrams explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the ashes in this scene are much more than they appear. In fact, they’ll very likely make audiences view Kylo in a different light.

“The backstory is, that that table has the ashes of the enemies he’s killed.That moment was actually shot for, and meant to be used in, the scene where he was talking to the Vader mask.”

https://youtu.be/1yZfwPIH3W8

Upon hearing this startling revelation from J.J.’s own lips, EW summed up the harrowing realization perfectly.

“In other words, that table of ash was originally in Ren’s private quarters. And the fact that he incinerates and preserves the remains of his foes adds a new, eerie dimension to his Dark Side nostalgia — and hoarding tendencies.”

Finding out that Kylo keeps his enemies’ ashes around as a reminder of his conquests and of his power adds a whole new dimension to his personality, psyche, and motives.

The character of Kylo Ren definitely did not make as big of an impact on fans and moviegoers as J.J. Abrams and Disney expected.

Some argue that Kylo just was not intimidating — that after he removed his mask at the end of Rey’s interrogation scene, he just was not creepy or scary enough. The suspense and subtle fear that inched its way into the hearts of viewers watching the film for the first time often faded away after Kylo removed his helmet, revealing a healthy, youthful, scar-free Adam Driver.

But no worries! For those of you who have watched the films, you know that the next time we see Kylo, he’ll have some very obvious and evil war wounds (particularly a scar running the length of his face).

Another reason for the lackluster popularity of Kylo Ren is the fact that many viewers found him to be a bit whiny. Numerous jokes have spread since the release of the film that regard Kylo as being similar to a young child upset that his favorite toy or candy has been taken away.

In the featurette included with the newly released film, Abrams explained that Kylo Ren — originally Ben Solo — had a past that was largely affected by his feelings of loneliness and abandonment combined with his awareness of his own power, as the Inquisitr reported.

“The grandchild of Anakin Skywalker was bound to be an exceptional Force user, a fact not lost on Supreme Leader Snoke. […] Abrams pointed out that not only did Snoke actively target Ren, but the duties and responsibilities that called Han and Leia away from Ben left them too absent to guide him.”

Now that we have discovered the surprisingly dark, evil, and freakishly serial aspects of Kylo Ren, perhaps audiences will like him better. Surely the scars from that nasty light saber wound will help, too.

[Image by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images]

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