Credit: LucasfilmFans will once again return to the Star Wars sequel trilogy era with a new sequel to Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, featuring the dark side Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, AKA Ben Solo.
This December will mark five years since The Walt Disney Company ended its sequel trilogy with Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Directed by J.J. Abrams, who returned following his directing of Star Wars: Episode VII–The Force Awakens (2015), The Rise of Skywalker was a lukewarm end to an overall divisive movie trilogy.
It was always going to be a hard task for Disney to please a fanbase known for its vocal criticism, but the lack of apparent direction–something Abrams spoke earnestly about years ago–triggered some of the biggest backlash seen for the galaxy far, far away.
While The Force Awakens was largely well-received, if not critiqued for its likeness to George Lucas’s original Star Wars movie from 1977, it would be Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (2017) from director Rian Johnson that would cause the biggest upset.
From its deepening of Force lore to the surprise killing of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and a side quest to Canto Bight with Finn (John Boyega) and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), The Last Jedi was pulled apart by the fanbase.
In the wake of the sequel trilogy, Lucasfilm has found its footing (somewhat, at least) on the small screen. The neo-Western Mandalorian series, creatively led by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, acted as the fulcrum for Star Wars‘ transition into canon live-action storytelling on Disney+.
Over time, though, the positive response has waned to some of Lucasfilm’s other TV shows, with Ahsoka and The Acolyte getting mixed reception–the latter created such negative online discourse with Lucasfilm ultimately canceled the show.
So, while Lucasfilm continues to explore the New Republic era with the upcoming Skeleton Crew and the future Ahsoka Season 2, fans can return to the sequel era with a whole new chapter of Kylo Ren’s story.
In the sequel trilogy, Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, was introduced as a Supreme Leader of the First Order, operating with General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) to quash any Resistance factions across the galaxy.
Over the course of the three movies, Kylo Ren–or Ben Solo–eventually came back to the light side of the Force, aiding Rey (Daisy Ridley) in her battle against the resurrected Emperor Palpatine (her grandfather) and the Sith Eternal.
Ren’s journey was muddled, and once again, Star Wars is aiming to iron out the creases through tie-in media. Enter “Star Wars: The Legacy of Vader.”
The new comic series from Star Wars aficionado Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross will begin next year and explores Kylo Ren’s obsession with his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader, AKA Anakin Skywalker. The Star Wars saga is, at its core, about the rise and fall of Anakin, and this new series only adds to the expanding Vader mythos.
“Written by Charles Soule, who previously penned “Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren” and “Star Wars: Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith,” among others, the story begins with a journey to Mustafar, where Ren will descend into Vader’s castle,” StarWars.com writes. “Later issues will take Kylo to the familiar sands of Tatooine as he tries to unlock the secrets of his family’s past.”
Set between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, “Star Wars: The Legacy of Vader” follows the trend of Star Wars using tie-in media to expand–and add much-needed context–to the events in the live-action universe; something Charles Soule told StarWars.com about:
“When fans talk to me about my Star Wars work, two of my Marvel comic runs come up more than almost anything else: my 2017 run on Darth Vader with Giuseppe Camuncoli and my 2019 series The Rise of Kylo Ren with Will Sliney.
“I think both of those worked so well in part because they were set in parts of the Star Wars timeline full of unanswered questions about characters the audience really loves. This new series is not just a combination of those two books, but also a chance to explore an extremely rich section of the timeline that’s almost entirely open: Kylo Ren’s time as Supreme Leader of the First Order.”
The series picks up following Kylo Ren’s murder of his father, Han Solo, his entanglement with Rey, and the death of Supreme Leader Snoke. Soule says this makes Ren “deeply unstable, angry, frustrated… dangerous.”
“He’s looking for any form of guidance he can get — even if he won’t admit it — and so he turns to just about the only thing he’s got left, the legacy of his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader,” the longtime Star Wars author added.
The last time fans saw Kylo Ren onscreen was in the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker, where he perished on the planet Exegol after battling the Knights of Ren and Palpatine–not before confirming his love and connection to Rey.
His end on screen was a divisive one, much like Disney’s trilogy as a whole, and this series looks set to give some more time to the popular anti-hero–ultimately changing how audiences interpret Kylo Ren’s actions in The Rise of Skywalker.
While Kylo Ren finds his story in the pages of comic books, Rey Skywalker will return to the big screen in a future Star Wars movie from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The New Jedi Order movie–which may be called this–was announced by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy alongside two other projects from James Mangold and Dave Filoni at last year’s Star Wars Celebration.
Little is known about any of the projects, but Daisy Ridley did confirm that her character aims to resurrect the Jedi Order, just like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) tried to do before the fallout between him and his nephew Ben Solo. However, Rey looks to be a completely different role model than her own mentor.
“Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #1” arrives on shelves on February 5, 2025.
How do you feel about Star Wars returning to Kylo Ren for this new series? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!