Adam Driver talks Kylo Ren’s growth and the nuance of Episode VIII’s script

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

With ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY on the horizon, we're probably not likely to see anything on EPISODE VIII for a while. However, that's not going to stop those lovely little tidbits of information from flowing. Recently, Collider spoke with Kylo Ren himself, Adam Driver, and the actor spoke a bit about working with Rian Johnson and how impressed he was with the script. Nothing spoiler-y mind you, but still a nice affirmation of what's to come.

Adam Driver on working with Rian Johnson:

Maybe this is just me thinking of myself, but I’m surprised [because] in their shoes I’d be way more stressed out than [J.J. and Rian] seem to be. Rian is coming into something that we kind of set up and he just took it to the next level in a really great way. He wrote it, too, and Rian’s writing is so clear. I learned a lot of things about my character through his writing. Some things we talked about before and some things we didn’t. He was working on [the script] while we were still working on the first one. To understand what J.J. was doing and take ownership from there is kind of a remarkable thing. And he’s the most polite, unassuming guy and he was appropriately territorial about some things but would still be the first to admit when something’s not working. A lot of times you need to rise to understand what the script is, and perhaps I’m beginning to be unclear, but he’s a great person to work with.

Regarding the script:

It’s great. It’s similar to how The Empire Strikes Back has a different tone. For that people always go “oooh, it’s dark” but I don’t know that it necessarily is. It’s just different in tone in a way that I think is great and necessary but also very clear. He trusts [that] his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity. He’s not dumbing anything down for someone and that’s really fun to play.

Adam Driver strikes me as an intelligent man, and I love reading about his take regarding the Star Wars universe and his character. I know some people have their qualms with Rey, but I think that J.J. and Co. did a pretty bang-up job of creating a villain with some layers. In fact, I'm just as interested in what's going to happen to Ren as I am Rey. Would it be too much to ask for a teaser to run before ROGUE ONE?

STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII will open in theaters on December 15, 2017.