i know what i have to do

the words hung above but never would form like a cry at the final breath that is drawn

“For many years, there was balance and then I saw...

Ben. My nephew with that mighty Skywalker blood.

And in my hubris, I thought I could train him...”

CREATORHUB SUMMER EVENT 2021

↳ DAY TWO: REPETITION

I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.

Driver always played Kylo Ren as younger than his actual age, and it’s the unformed aspect of the character that helps make him compelling. A confused, angry man-boy radicalized by powerful forces whispering in his ear, an heir to generational trauma raised in an era of endless war, is an all-too-believable threat. But when you get glimpses of him as pre-Dark Side Ben Solo, the character is also unexpectedly sympathetic, even as he’s nearly weeping in frustration as he commands an entire army to train their lasers on Luke Skywalker.

“There’s something in having an antagonist who is a little more vulnerable,” says Driver. “That seems to be more relatable and human than just someone who is a psychopath.” Some of Driver’s best moments as Kylo come in silence, when we get to watch the pain in his eyes (and in general, Driver loves scenes where he gets to listen without saying a word).

Adam Driver: It was an interesting process that I have never done before to be able to tell a lot story without actually being seen. And then what is the difference when he takes off his mask? What do you find? Instead of this menacing figure that you’re used to, someone that’s kind of more moustache-twirly and obvious, that it was actually someone more human. […] There’s nothing more powerful than genetics. If you really imagine the stakes of him in his youth having all these special powers and having your parents be absent during that process, with their own agendas, equally as selfish. He’s lost in the world that he was raised in and feels like he was abandoned by the people that he’s closest with. He’s angry because of that, I think. And he has a huge grudge on his shoulders.

J.J. Abrams: [Han and Leia] had this kid who was born with equal parts good and evil. He is someone who is broken. […] But it’s more than just having a bad seed as a kid. Snoke had targeted this kid, knew that this kid was going to be incredibly powerful in the Force and wanted him as an ally.

#yeah okay i’ll join the light side, just get me a towel.