Before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren was a mysterious new villain who reminded many Star Wars fans of the Expanded Universe (now Legends) character from Knights of the Old Republic: Darth Revan. As it turns out, that resemblance may not have been accidental, and the inspiration could play a factor in Star Wars 9.
After the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens the Kylo Ren comparison immediately shifted to another EU/Legends character, Jacen Solo. The now non-canon son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa likewise fell to the dark side, but the small similarity in their story shouldn't cause fans to dismiss the Revan inspiration entirely.
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As fans hunt for clues of what to expect in Star Wars 9, they would be smart to look back to Revan, who doesn't only look an awful lot like Kylo Ren visually and plays with a number of similar themes, but the legend of Revan could have actually been a pivotal influence in Ben Solo's ultimate turn to the dark side.
- This Page: Who Was Revan?
- Page 2: Kylo Ren Would Have Known About Revan
- Page 3: How Revan Could Hold the Key to Kylo Ren's Redemption
Who Was Revan?
Reven is one of the most popular characters from Star Wars Legends, formerly the Expanded Universe. While he hasn't been outright confirmed in new canon, a number of elements closely related to Revan's Legends story have been slowly reincorporated into canon, establishing the groundwork needed to bring Revan back with a slightly different story, similar to the use of Grand Admiral Thrawn in new canon.
Revan has a long and complicated backstory, not helped by the fact that much of it is tied up in the branching story of the game, Knights of the Old Republic. Born thousands of years before the events of the Star Wars saga, Revan was a Jedi who went against the will of the Jedi Council to lead the Old Republic's armies in the Mandalorian Wars. He would become a war hero for his efforts, but his ends-justify-the-means approach led him to became a ruthless tactician, and he embraced the dark side in the process.
After the war, Revan and his apprentice, Malek, disappeared into the Unknown Regions, where they discovered a hidden Sith Empire run by the Sith Empire Vitiate. Vitiate corrupted their minds and they both became Sith Lords, tasked with finding an ancient Rakatan shipyard, the Star Forge, capable of producing an unstoppable fleet. When they found it, instead of returning to Vitiate, the returned to the known galaxy at the head of their own Sith Empire. Darth Revan and Darth Malek led their forces against the Jedi and the Republic in what was known as the Jedi Civil War with the intent of unifying the galaxy under their control so they could take on the Sith Empire in the Unknown Regions led by Emperor Vitiate.
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Revan and Malek led a violent campaign, but the Jedi eventually subdued Revan, defeating him in battle and wiping his memory, placing him on a Republic ship as a soldier, only for him to find his way back to them with the Jedi Bastilla seeking training. They allowed him to train as a Jedi and he eventually regained his memories, chose to reject the dark side, and took down his former apprentice, Darth Malek before marrying Bastilla, and settling into obscurity. While Knights of the Old Republic players could choose any variety of story paths, the light side ending (as just described) is treated as canon by other Star Wars Legends material.
Revan would eventually seek out the Sith Emperor Vitiate, only to be captured and tormented until his mind fractured into a dark half and a light half. He eventually escaped and fled to another ancient Rakatan facility, The Foundry, intent on creating a droid army to destroy the Emperor. He was defeated at the Foundry, and surrendered himself to the Force, but while his light half joined the Force, his dark half held on to his physical form, defying death until he finally defeated Vitiate. Eventually, his light half was able to convince his dark half to become whole again, and Revan finally truly died and became one with the Force.
Page 2: Kylo Ren Would Have Known About Revan
Fans Originally Thought Kylo WAS Revan
Way back when marketing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens first kicked in, a number of Star Wars fans were convinced that the mysterious new villain was Darth Revan, or at least heavily inspired by Darth Revan. At the time there wasn't much information to go off of, but the general character design, particularly the mask, was so similar that it was hard not to at least draw a comparison.
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While Revan's story doesn't line up exactly with the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he had already been deemed non-canon, so fans thought there was a possibility it was being adapted to fit the new timeline. When The Force Awakens came out, it was abundantly clear that Kylo Ren wasn't actually Darth Revan, and the reason for all the secrecy surrounding Kylo Ren was because he was actually Ben Solo, and his story appeared to be incredibly similar to another character from Star Wars Legends, Jacen Solo, the Jedi son of Han Solo and Leia Organa who eventually fell to the dark side, taking the Sith name, Darth Caedus.
The similarities to Jacen Solo's story may seem like a natural fit for Ben Solo's transition into Kylo Ren, but fans' earlier suspicions about Darth Revan could have been more on the right track, as Kylo Ren's similarities to Darth Revan might not be accidental.
Kylo Ren Probably Knew About (And Was Inspired By) Revan
Revan may not have been returned to canon whole cloth, or even by name just yet, but there's a lot of elements in canon that are integral to his story, such as the Mandalorian Wars, have already been reintroduced. In fact, it's learning about these ancient events that could have made Ben Solo aware of Revan, and been the first seeds of his ultimate fall.
Luke took a young Ben Solo on as his apprentice, and the two Jedi traveled the galaxy seeking ancient Jedi artifacts and other knowledge in Luke's effort to start a new Jedi Order. As is mentioned in the Star Wars: The Last Jedi visual dictionary, one of these artifacts was a Jedi Crusader pendant, referencing the Jedi that joined Revan in the Mandalorian wars.
Further evidence can be found in the very design of Kylo's crossguard lightsaber. the Star Wars: The Force Awakens visual dictionary says the crossguard design dates back as far as the "Scourge of Malachor," which sounds an awful lot like an event from the Jedi Civil War referenced in Knights of the Old Republic 2 where Darth Revan used a superweapon, the Mass Shadow Generator, on a planet called Malachor V, destroying both his army and his enemies, but ending the war. Season 2 of Star Wars Rebels even visited Malachor to see the mass devastation of two armies, and Ezra Bridger even found a crossguard lightsaber on the battlefield. This is a site Luke and Ben may have also visited on their travels.
Related: Star Wars 9 Theory: The Knights of Ren Are In Kylo's Future
Based on what we know about Ben Solo, he thought Luke was weak and didn't think his potential was appreciated. Learning about a Jedi who went against the seemingly rigid rules of the Jedi Order only to save the galaxy and be heralded as a hero by the Old Republic would be understandably alluring to someone like Ben Solo. Especially if Supreme Leader Snoke was (somehow) whispering in his ear, telling him similar things about the power he could have.
When Ben eventually turned, he also took some of Luke's former students with him as his own sort of "Jedi Crusaders," changed his name to Kylo Ren, and adopted a mask that's way closer to the design of Revans than Darth Vader, who most people assume served as inspiration for his dark side getup.
This is, of course, all contingent on the fact that some form of the Revan character is, in fact, a part of new Star Wars canon, and fans just don't know it yet, possibly because it's being held back to protect a big reveal in Star Wars 9 or some other story in another medium, but with this many similarities, it seems like canon Revan is only a matter of time.
Page 3: How Revan Could Hold the Key to Kylo Ren's Redemption
Revan Could Hold the Key to Kylo Ren's Redemption In Star Wars 9
Like Revan, Ben betrayed the Jedi and disappeared into the Unknown Regions, only to return at the head of a massive army, including a weapon powered by absorbing stars, not unlike the Star Forge. The First Order also commands a massive Mega Star Destroyer, the Supremacy, which also bears similarities to the Star Forge in that it's a mobile shipyard. We don't know exactly where Kylo Ren's story will go in Star Wars 9, but it will open with Kylo Ren as the Emperor of an invading force that originated in the Unknown Regions.
Related: Kylo Ren Can Still Be Redeemed
Duality isn't just a concept that has been stressed with Kylo Ren, but a major theme in all of Star Wars, particularly the Skywalker family, and with Revan being the embodiment of this duality in Star Wars Legends and Star Wars 9 being the end of the Skywalker saga, it only makes sense for these influences to all come to a head in this story.
Darth Vader, especially in newer canon material, has been portrayed as having two sides to him. The dark Darth Vader side and the light Anakin Skywalker side. Vader regularly puts in great effort to suppress, forget about, and distance himself from Anakin Skywalker, so it's only fitting that the Force ghost seen at the end of return of the Jedi (yes, this is canon) was a young Anakin Skywalker, since that side of Vader basically died when he fell to the dark side.
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Building on this idea, concept art for Star Wars: The Force Awakens featured a Force ghost version of Anakin Skywalker who was also part Vader. The concept was ultimately abandoned, but it shows the theme of this duality was a major consideration when planning the film. The theme is still seen when Kylo Ren worries over feeling "pulled to the light," and kills his own father to try to end his struggle. Unfortunately, it didn't have the intended effect, and Snoke tells him the deed "split [his] spirit to the bone." Later, Snoke tells Kylo "where I sensed conflict I now sense resolve" before Kylo literally splits Snoke into two pieces and joins forces with Rey, who he eventually also splits with, also literally splitting the Skywalker lightsaber into two pieces. This is all in a battle where the First Order flagship, The Supremacy, is also split in two. Kylo Ren and Ben Solo are even two different names. The theme is clearly one of significance.
The big question going into Star Wars 9 is "will Kylo be redeemed?" If we follow the parallels to both Revan and Vader to their conclusion, Ben Solo's redemption might be equally as complicated. Rey had a vision of him turning, and that could be true... from a certain point of view. If he is again pulled to the light and his spirit is "split to the bone," he could surrender his light half to the Force ultimately finding redemption, but leaving his dark half (and body) in need of defeating, which could be Rey's ultimate role. Either way, the Skywalker legacy will end with him.
This is all pretty crazy, so there's plenty of doubt that this is the direction Lucasfilm will take Star Wars 9. The themes are consistent, and we know the franchise is working toward something big with Kylo Ren, but drawing connections to Revan and splitting Kylo's spirit in two seems like it could be a bridge to far for anything less than the most extreme fans. But on the other hand, Rian Johnson was allowed to do some similarly crazy things with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, including new Force powers, so it's never safe to say never.
Related: Is Star Wars Finally Adapting Knights Of The Old Republic?
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