'Star Wars' Concept Art Reveals Kylo Ren's Original Name
The look and name ("The Grave Robber") that Kylo Ren almost had in the Star Wars sequel trilogy are either cool or downright lame, right? Recently resurfaced concept art from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is drawing interest, and I am sure that a lot of chatter and debates will go on for a long time to come in the Star Wars fanbase.
Prior to the release of The Force Awakens, several aspects of the look of Kylo Ren were described in news articles. The most hardcore Star Wars fans read a lot of online news media. One of the best things from the early trailers of The Force Awakens is the POV shot of the melted helmet of Darth Vader. When Kylo speaks to the helmet, it’s like a moment out of Hamlet. Even The Art of the Last Jedi book reveals various alternate Kylos, both in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
The Star Wars Facts Twitter account shared "The Grave Robber" image recently, created by artist and Concept Design Supervisor of Lucasfilm Christian Alzmann for Episode VII in the year 2013. Although the design is more polished than the final result for Kylo Ren, there is arguably no substance to that figure.
In The Art of the Last Jedi, Alzmann went into detail about his concept painting of "the Jedi Killer" who murders Han Solo. From the painting, this character wasn't exactly what we came to know as Kylo Ren. In fact, back in 2013, the idea for the character was a secret to many involved.
But as author Phil Szostak relates in that book,
"In late summer of 2013, the Visualists were let in on two secrets that would not be revealed to the rest of the world for another year and a half: that the beloved Han Solo would meet his end in The Force Awakens, dispatched by the malevolent Jedi Killer — and that the Jedi Killer would be Han and Leia Organa's son."
Some may recall that in April of last year, the official Star Wars Instagram account shared five different photos of the original designs for Kylo Ren’s mask for The Rise of Skywalker. All five concepts were considered for Episode IX, which included Kylo Ren getting his mask back after destroying it The Last Jedi.
Further back, in August 2019, there was also a design shared by Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak that was intended for Kylo Ren before it ended up being used for the character the Fifth Brother in Star Wars Rebels. The character in that animated show worked with Darth Vader to hunt down the Rebellion during the reign of the Empire.
Overall, despite his end in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren is arguably the most interesting and multifaceted character of the entire sequel trilogy. Had Kylo Ren's helmet and outfit been too badass for the fandom, we might not have had the awesome moment in The Last Jedi when he shattered it. The vulnerability of Kylo Ren is one of the reasons that made the character so unique, and it gave Adam Driver a chance to use his great acting abilities for one of the most memorable performances in all of Star Wars.
Source(s): Deseret