Actor Adam Driver confirmed he has no plans to return to Star Wars after playing Kylo Ren in the Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
As reported by Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazette, Driver did an appearance on the Smartless podcast, where he was asked if he would reprise his role.
Driver responded, “They’re doing stuff, but not with me. I’m not doing any more.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
Driver’s response is not surprising. Back in 2019, he told French outlet Le Matin, that reprising the role was “not on the agenda at all.”
When asked if he might reprise the role of Kylo Ren in a future film or TV series, Driver said, “That is not on the agenda at all. This experience will remain forever as one of the great moments of my career but I aspire to other adventures.”
He then detailed what his goals for 2020 were, “By 2020, I want to disappear. I want to be forgotten so that I can be offered other very different projects. I will try to be as discreet as possible during the End of Year Parties because I hate drawing attention to myself.”
“It may sound surprising to an actor, but I like to be incognito. One thing is certain: I will avoid cinemas and especially places where [they] project Star Wars.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
While Driver will not be reprising his role, his co-star Daisy Ridley will seemingly reprise her role as Rey in a planned film. Lucasfilm announced the film back in April at Star Wars Celebration in London.
A press release detailed the film would be “set 15 years after the last events of the Skywalker Saga. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy will tell the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down; the director then delighted fans by welcoming Daisy Ridley to stage, confirming she will be reprising her beloved role as Rey in the upcoming movie.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
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Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy provided more details to Entertainment Weekly, “We’ve been talking a lot about going well into the past and one of the things that’s really knitting this all together, obviously, are the Jedi. What happened with the Jedi overtime, much like history? How did the Jedi evolve? They were wiped out with Order 66 then they gradually have been coming back. The question that we’re going to ask with New Jedi Order and with Rey is: Does the galaxy need them anymore? Do they want them back?”
“So there’s a lot of food for thought in what we’re doing whether it’s in the past, present, or future,” she said.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
Kennedy would also tell Games Radar, “I think what’s always great about Star Wars is it’s a big galaxy, and we’re coming off what was a major war with the First Order. And now, Rey has made a promise to Luke and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be.”
She continued, “And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.”
These themes are supposed to tie-in to the announced James Mangold film. Kennedy explained, “It was something that Jim [Mangold] immediately sparked to, and I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from. Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
A leaked synopsis for the film from Issue 1335 of Production Weekly stated, “Set roughly 15 years after Rey’s victory over Palpatine at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
“The sequel delves into Rey’s courageous endeavor to restore the Jedi Order, where she assumes the role of a mentor to two promising young students – a girl and a boy. As her training progresses, it becomes evident that the girl possesses extraordinary abilities, destined to emerge as the future leader,” the synopsis concluded.
Daisy Ridley as Rey and Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa in The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
A recent listing on the Film & Television Industry Alliance’s website also detailed that this Rey film is expected to go into production on April 7, 2024 in the United Kingdom.
This listing confirmed a previous rumor from scooper WDW Pro who had stated, [Kathleen Kennedy] is allegedly in a very big hurry to get this movie into full-on production that includes trying to reserve locations very fast out of the strike as well as getting everything tucked away and done and put into place. They want to move fast. Still, I am told not to expect this film out until at the very earliest late 2025, but almost assuredly 2026. That means that even when this comes out it will still have been basically a decade since Disney made money with Star Wars.”
What do you make of Driver making it clear he’s not returning to Star Wars?
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