Star Wars: Adam Driver Confirms Whether He Will Return As Kylo Ren
It's been a while since "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker" hit theaters and ended the Skywalker saga. Despite the film's conclusive nature, Lucasfilm has plans for sequel trilogy star Daisy Ridley to reprise Rey in a new movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. That fact has understandably led Star Wars fans to speculate about other sequel trilogy characters who could return in future movies or TV shows. It looks like one actor they shouldn't expect to see return to the galaxy far, far away is Adam Driver.
The Oscar nominee, who played Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, confirmed during an appearance on the "SmartLess" podcast that he doesn't plan on starring in another Star Wars project. "They're doing stuff, but not with me. I'm not doing it anymore," he said. When asked if he's done playing Kylo Ren because he believes the character's story is over, Driver stated, "Yeah."
It's hard to disagree with the actor's opinion. After all, "The Rise of Skywalker" not only sees Kylo abandon the dark side and find last-minute redemption as Ben Solo, but it also ends with him dying in Rey's arms. Death hasn't stopped other Star Wars figures from returning in various ways over the years, but it's easy to understand why Driver might prefer to leave his character alone at this point.
Adam Driver was hesitant to play Kylo Ren
His time with the franchise may be over, but Adam Driver has remained open to reminiscing about his experiences working in the Star Wars universe. During his "SmartLess" interview, the actor discussed his lifelong affection for the popular franchise, saying, "I was a fan of the movies ... To be asked to do it was ... I thought about it a lot because, again, I didn't want to be bad in it." Fortunately for him, while audiences continue to have mixed opinions about the sequel trilogy, Driver's performance as Kylo Ren received near-universal praise.
Reflecting further on what it was like signing on to play the Star Wars villain, Driver said, "I got an offer, but there was no script to read, which I had never done before, so you had to commit to it. J.J. [Abrams] walked me through the whole thing, but there was no script." Notably, his comments on the podcast echo others that he's made about how the original arc for his character changed; the controversial Kylo Ren story involving his return to the light side wasn't always planned.
Driver's career has continued to flourish in the years since "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker" was released. He's collaborated with celebrated filmmakers like Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, Francis Ford Coppola, and Leos Carax. While Driver's confidently moved on from the Star Wars universe, he continues to be drawn to sci-fi roles in films like "65."