Star Wars: Rian Johnson Claims Rey and Kylo are "Dual Protagonists" in 'The Last Jedi'

The debut of The Force Awakens surprised many audiences with its focus on Rey, due to much of the marketing materials focusing on Finn, who took a more supporting role in the adventure. Fans might expect Rey to once again be the main character in The Last Jedi, but writer/director Rian Johnson confirmed that Kylo Ren will become even more prominent in the saga.

"I think Rey and Kylo are almost like a dual protagonist," Johnson told SciFiNow Magazine. "You identify with Rey, but also you identify with Kylo in a way that you never did with Vader. I know I do. Because if these movies are about adolescence, Kylo is that anger of adolescence and that rejection of the parents, and wanting to screw over your dad; and that's something that all of us, to some degree, can identify with. And the idea of there being a bad guy who you identify with as much as you do the protagonist in some way, that's really interesting."

Johnson's comments reflect the theme of the promotional materials for the film in that the lines between black and white are much fuzzier and many of the characters exist in a moral grey area.

"It's funny how Adam [Driver, who plays Kylo Ren] talks about it," Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, confirmed. "He said it's not the difference between good and bad, it's the difference between good and right. Like his character thinks what he's doing is right. He doesn't think he's the big baddie. So the lines get blurred anyway. Good people make bad decisions. Bad people make good decisions. What Rian has done is this wonderful thing of morally questioning people in a way that makes you see them in a more three dimensional way, or just in a way that you haven't seen before."

Driver himself shed insight into his character and his struggles when speaking with Entertainment Weekly.

"He has been aware of this ability in himself from such a young age, and I don't think there's a lot of people around him who are on the same level," Driver revealed.

He added, "I think that there is something familiar there, as well as something to be feared, or something … that he can't quite place."

Fans will see what's next for Kylo and Rey when The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15.

[H/T Tumblr]