New Concept Art Shows The Deleted Kylo Ren Storyline From 'The Rise Of Skywalker'
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a divisive addition to the Skywalker Saga. While that statement could be said about any film in the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker seems to have left the worst taste in fans’ mouths. It is also no secret that the film was marred by several production problems. The film went through two directors and multiple rewrites of the script, and they had to piece together Leia’s role in the movie based on unused footage of Carrie Fisher. Needless to say, there was a lot that did not make the final cut of the film. That is apparent in the unreleased new concept art for the film.
Jon McCoy, who worked as a concept artist on the film, recently released several pieces of concept art he worked on. He released a ton of artwork, and most of it doesn’t appear in the final film. However, they are stunning pieces that look gorgeous on their own. Any Star Wars fan owes it to themselves to check out some of his work. Outside of how amazing the pieces are, there are dozens of details hidden in the artwork that many fans will appreciate. There are also several ideas and concepts in the artwork that didn’t make the final cut. These details could spawn dozens of articles about potential story threads that failed to make it passed the conception phase. However, a series of released images depict a scene that made it into the final film, albeit heavily edited.
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At the beginning of The Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren is slaughtering his way through some nameless guards on an unnamed planet trying to find a Sith Wayfinder. This takes him two minutes in the final film, but new details emerge after the film’s release. The planet was Mustafar, and the nameless guards were revealed to be Alazmec warriors. Apparently, the original scene was supposed to be much longer and have many different turns in it. A large portion of that is shown in these pieces of concept art.
Kylo Ren confronting the Alazmec warriors.
This appears to be his approach to Vader's Castle.
His arrival at the castle.
He fights his way up the stairs.
He is drawing closer to the castle’s doors, leaving death in his wake.
He finds the Sith Wayfinder.
He takes it to the Eye of Webbish Bog.
It is evident from these images that Kylo Ren’s journey to Mustafar was supposed to be a much larger part of the movie. It might have even served to help endear fans to the character more. Again, fans have since learned that Ren was initially supposed to be traveling to Vader’s castle, and the Wayfinder was believed to have belonged to Darth Vader. Perhaps on this journey, fans would have seen the deep connection to Darth Vader that Ren is supposed to feel.
The images also show that he was supposed to interact with the Eye of Webbish Bog, who would have brought attention to Kylo’s feelings for Rey. The images also show Kylo changing appearance from image to image, and he is eventually unmasked. Perhaps this journey was supposed to take a toll on him in many ways. It might have been physically taxing, and he barely made it out alive. On the other hand, it could have altered his opinion on the “Kylo Ren” persona and ended with him ditching his mask for good.
Obviously, there are a lot of unknowns with the artwork. Likewise, there is a lot to speculate about with the images, but that provides few answers. From the photos, it seems Kylo’s journey would have been fascinating, and it might have given fans a deeper appreciation and concern for the character. However, it was undoubtedly cut for a reason. Whether that is a good reason or not is up for debate. However, one must wonder what the film could have been if this, or any other scene from the concept art, made it into the final film.
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Source(s): TheDirect