Could The Sequel Trilogy Be Morphing Subtly Into Kylo Ren’s Story?

When we were all little idiots in our "School is for Fishes" t-shirts, we thought the Original Trilogy was about the rise of Luke Skywalker, and in some respects that is accurate. When viewed in isolation as a single film or even as the Original Trilogy as a whole, it's a legitimate take. But what we didn't know at the time is that we only started watching as the swing had reached the bottom of its arc. Through some pivoting by George Lucas as well as a constantly evolving narrative with the release of the Prequel Trilogy, we see that it actually became Darth Vader's story. It was about his descent and redemption. One tangential note: This absolutely positively was not the plan at the onset of the Original Trilogy. It's the way the story evolved. Vader wasn't even planned as the primary villain. He was originally planned as more the Mountain to someone else's Cersei Lannister.

Things could get a little spoilery for The Last Jedi from here on out, so if you're trying to "go in clean" I suggest you turn back now.

Star Wars has been a self plagiarizing entity since the OT concluded over thirty years ago. The stories have a familiar pattern. Could that pattern be repeating with the Sequel Trilogy? Could Episodes VII, VIII and IX be Rey's story on the surface, but the larger narrative is actually Kylo Ren's full arc similar to the pattern of the OT and PT? Could this story really be about Kylo Ren's fall and redemption? One obvious problem with that is that completing the front half of the Ren arc would be logistically difficult in a practical sense. It would literally be impossible to tell a story between Episodes VI and VII without recasts or CGI which have already been eliminated as options.

But by breaking Star Wars tradition and introducing flashbacks (or Forcebacks), J.J. Abrams provided a way to bridge this logistical problem to complete Kylo Ren's arc. We could see the larger story arc via this newly introduced convention, and this ties into one of the latest rumors published by MovieWeb. We've known for a while that the use of flashbacks would continue in The Last Jedi, and it was widely assumed that they would be used to further explain Rey's backstory. However, Movieweb is reporting that these flashbacks will actually expand Kylo's story instead:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will offer glimpses into Kylo Ren's past that will start to bring shape to his unorthodox upbringing. Young Ben Solo's quiet transformation will be witnessed by Rey as she continues to connect with Luke and Anakin's old blue lightsaber, which is now, according to Lucasfilm, officially hers.

So to repeat the title question, could the Sequel Trilogy actually be Kylo Ren's story after all? This isn't meant to diminish Rey's role. Again, this would mirror the Original Trilogy. Kylo Ren's redemption would be a key part of Rey's ascendancy just as Vader's was to Luke.

Let us know what you think in the comments below. Not you, Malacara. You're off the project.

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