The character of Ben Solo / Kylo Ren is, arguably, the brighter spot in the current Star Wars trilogy. Adam Driver does an excellent job of portraying the conflicted villain that struggles with the pull to the light and to the dark. He looks the part, too; young, sort-of awkward, unsure of himself, and not too scary just yet. He has some menace, but it comes from a place of insecurity rather than just being evil. His casting was a good call. Originally, however, there was a different concept of what Kylo Ren, also known back then as the Jedi Killer.
Kylo Ren: The Jedi Killer
I’m fairly certain Driver could still pull off the part if this was the final decision on Kylo’s appearance, but it would have been a tough sell to the fans. Look at that picture and tell me you see a young, inexperienced Force-user under the thumb of Snoke and has a beef with his dad. You don’t. Not even close.
These images show a weathered, galaxy-traveling, actual experienced Jedi Killer that might know a thing or two about taking out some powerful Force users. Not someone who goes toe-to-toe with a turncoat Storm Trooper and takes a licking. This guy is much scarier than that.
“Very early Jedi Killer/Kylo concept. Wasn’t used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but ended up being the inspiration for the Fifth Brother in Star Wars Rebels.”
Lucasfilm concept artist Christian Alzmann
A Twinge of Familiarity
You might be thinking, “Where have I seen this guy before?”. Well, if you watched Star Wars: Rebels, then you’re likely familiar with the Fifth Brother. He was one of the inquisitors sent by Darth Vader to hunt down Ezra and Kanan. We’ll get to see his counterpart, Seventh Sister, in the upcoming Jedi: Fallen Order video game.
What do you think? Should they have gone with the meaner, badder-looking Kylo, or the tantrum-prone, masked/scarred Kylo we have now? Tell us at That Hashtag Show you thgouhts on this, and all other things Star Wars!
Source: Uproxx
