With the release of
Star Wars: Episode IX later this year, the contentious new trilogy will draw to a close. It will finally conclude the nine-part Skywalker saga, which has taken fans on a wild ride since
A New Hope first dazzled audiences all the way back in 1977.
While
Star Wars has always been a popular topic of conversation, this latest trilogy has been the subject of great debate and even controversy since
Episode VII: The Force Awakens in 2015. The divide furthered with the release of
The Last Jedi. While not everyone is happy with the direction Rian Johnson took with
Episode VIII, there's a great deal of vested interest in J.J. Abrams'
Episode IX.
For star Adam Driver, who plays the villainous Kylo Ren, the journey has been even longer. Six years to be exact when you include pre-production. Speaking to Deadline, Driver reflected on his time playing the trilogy's main protagonist during this marathon journey. While Driver has worked on projects for this long, it's different with a movie, especially
Star Wars where he knew where the journey was going to end.
"It’s been my second time doing something where it’s lasted six years. I think with Star Wars, it’s six years this year that I’ve known about it or been working on it. I had this experience once with Girls, where it was six or seven years from the moment we shot the pilot to the very last thing. Since I’ve been working, it’s what I’ve been used to, in a way, where you do your other things, and then you go back to see your friends. It’s always good to go back to those groups.
"With Star Wars, I had one piece of information of where it was all going, and that’s where it has been in my head for a long time, and things were building towards that."
Driver, who has performed on Broadway before, likened the experience to his work in theater. He explained that when a play is over, you finally feel like you have an understanding of the character and wish you could go back and do it all over again. He feels the same way about his run as Kylo Ren.
"It feels very theatrical, if anything. Because in the plays that I’ve done, a six-month run, on the very last day, you finally feel like, “Oh, now I have a better understanding of what it is that I want to do. I wish we could do this all over again.” Working on a play, the questions you can ask yourself are infinite, and that’s what’s torturous about film sometimes – you only have one shot to get it right. And you can do a lot of takes, but we’re not all going to get back together again and do this. But for something you’re doing for six years, you still have a chance to go back and make something a little bit more articulated."
Adam Driver's Kylo Ren has undoubtedly been one of the more intriguing characters in the new trilogy, especially after the events of
The Last Jedi. Having seen his take on the character up until now, it's hard to imagine what he would do differently if given the opportunity.