Adam Driver Was Told Where ‘Star Wars: Episode 9’ Would End Up Before Filming ‘The Force Awakens’
Adam Driverhas been keeping aStar Warssecret for several years, and it’s not something mundane like Kylo Ren getting his helmet back inStar Wars: Episode 9. In a new interview, Driver says he’s known for a long time “where it was all going,” so read on as we narrow down the possibilities of what he’s talking about.
Speaking withDeadline, Driver compared the experience of working on the HBO seriesGirlsto working on theStar Warsmovies, dropping one particularly interesting bit of information at the end:
“WithGirls, there wasn’t really an end in sight, so it was fun to develop it as I went, and to think about where it was all going. WithStar Wars, I had one piece of information of where it was all going, and that’s where it has been in my head for a long time, and things were building towards that.”
So has Driver really known for years about how this trilogy will come to an end? Let’s dig into that idea.
“I was very thankful there was no slip of paper that was handed to me that said, ‘Rey’s parents are so and so,'“Star Wars: The Last Jediwriter/directorRian Johnsontold uswhen that film was released, mentioning that whileThe Force Awakensco-writer/directorJ.J. Abrams"might have had thoughts in his head”, he “didn’t dictate them” to Johnson. That sentiment seemed to apply to Johnson’s entire tenure working on the sequel – he’ssaidthat his early pitch to Lucasfilm presidentKathleen Kennedywas to approach that film as a story which tested all of its heroes, and it sounds like he was given the opportunity to make whatever storytelling choices he wanted along the way.
But now that Abrams is back in the driver’s seat forEpisode 9, he’ll naturally want to incorporate any overarching ideas he may have had all those years ago into this final movie in the trilogy.Daisy Ridleyonce saidshe believed “there was some sort of general consensus on the main storylines that would happen in the trilogy,” and now that Abrams has returned, it seems like he’s going to be able to execute that plan to complement what happened inThe Last Jedi.
With that established, let’s discuss some possibilities of what this secret could be that Driver’s been keeping for years.
Kylo’s Fate
This option could be something as simple as Abrams telling Driver that Kylo Ren isredeemed by the end, or even that Kylo dies. Remember whenLOSTstar Matthew Fox said he knew for years how the series was going to end? It turns out that all hereallyknew was that it would end with a close-up of character Jack’s eye closing, which was a mirror of the opening shot of the series. Driver may have a more in-depth idea forStar Warssince he said “things were building towards” this piece of information he’s been harboring, but I just wanted to note the chance that it could be something very small.
The Knights of Ren
Speaking of something small, maybe Abrams told Driver about how the mysteriousKnights of Renfactor into the story ofEpisode 9. A segment of theStar Warsfan community seems absolutely obsessed with these characters, despite them having no lines of dialogue or character names and appearing only in flashback form inThe Force Awakens. Could they somehow be the key to the end of this trilogy?
Kylo’s Relationship to Rey
No one is more sick of the “Rey’s parents” discussion than I am, but I can’t ignore the possibility that since Abrams is back, he may retcon Johnson’s decision to have Rey’s parents be “nobody” and end up revealing that she’s related to Kylo in some way. Last April, Simon Pegg explained that Abramsinitially had an entirely different plan for Rey’s parentsthan what we saw inThe Last Jedi, so maybe this reveal is what Driver’s referring to.
Considering what little information we have aboutEpisode 9at this point, these seem like the most likely options. I’m guessing someone will follow up with Driver about this afterEpisode 9arrives onDecember 20, 2019, so we’ll probably have to wait until then to get more details about theStar Warssecret he’s been keeping since 2014.
