Star Wars The Force Awakens: Who is Kylo Ren’s Father?

When Kylo Ren hit the scene in the first Star Wars: Force Awakens’ trailers, he made as much of a splash as Star Wars villains of the past: Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and General Grievous to name a few. As is the case with J.J. Abrams’ previous movies, we don’t have a ton of information about the actual story of Force Awakens outside of its new characters, along with the returning cast from the original trilogy. With Kylo, we know he’s a member of the “Knights of Ren”, he’s one of the leaders of the First Order (the new evil empire on the block), and he has a deep love and respect for Darth Vader, going so far as to hold his burnt mask in memoriam.

Word on the street is that Kylo was born shortly after the Battle of Endor, now an adult of 30, years after the fact. In this article, we’ll be dissecting the possible candidates for who is the father of this newest threat to the Light side and the universe that existed a long time ago in a galaxy so far away. Does Kylo come from an upbringing of heroes, having found himself falling from the light? Was he raised in the dark side and following in his father’s footsteps? How will this come into play when the Force Awakens drops later this week? Let’s dig into this theory!

Han Solo

Here’s my top pick. Star Wars’ own old pirate may be the father of Kylo Ren, having a son with Leia following the events of Return of the Jedi. In the Extended Universe, Leia and Han had a number of children, two of which were twins named Jacen and Jaina Solo. Jacen eventually fell to the path of the darkside, while Jaina became the “sword of the Jedi”, forced to eventually come to blows with her own brother. While Han and Leia made for an interesting and compelling couple, they didn’t exactly seem like the type of couple that would a.) stay together and b.) have much time for children should they have any. Han most likely went back to his scallywag days of tripping the light fantastic with his old pal Chewie, while Leia, now officially “General Leia”, was most likely helping to keep the remnants of the Rebel Alliance going in creating a new system to replace the tyrannical Empire.

Obviously, with their hectic schedules, it could account for a son who ended up tempted by the Darkside, looking for a place for himself in the universe while also rebelling against his parents. What better way to get back at them then by helping to bring back the Empire that they fought so hard to eliminate? Adam Driver, the actor bringing Kylo Ren to the big screen, could definitely be sold as the son of these two by his physical characteristics alone. For now, if Ren is the son of one of the characters from the original trilogy, my money is on Han Solo.

Luke Skywalker

It’s somewhat amazing how much we haven’t seen of Luke Skywalker in trailers or material when it comes to the Force Awakens. Obviously, we know he’s in the film and we know he’s been in something of a self-imposed isolation from his friends and the universe in general, following in the footsteps of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. What is the reason for that though? Is it possible that Luke had a child with an unknown woman, attempted to train their son in the ways of the force, only for it to blow up in his face? Could his own son being seduced by the ways of Palpatine and so many other Sith be the impetus for Luke’s exile?

This would certainly make for a swerve from the relationship that Luke had with his father Anakin in the original trilogy. Now the son would be the one becoming a Sith while the father would be desperately attempting to bring him back to the light. Again, when we’re thinking of how the new trilogy can branch off on its own while still paying tribute to the storytelling and structure of the original films, this would be a good way to go about it. The question remains who would be the mother in this scenario, but hey, now’s as good a time as any to introduce folks to Mara Jade (wife of Skywalker from the Extended Universe) don’t you think?

Emperor Palpatine

Let’s be real, Palpatine probably never saw himself being hurled down a shaft by his own apprentice to his own untimely demise, but I’d bet bottom dollar that he had numerous plans in place for when he finally kicking the bucket. Surely, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire must have had ideas in his mind for who he would hand his vast resources to when he bit the big one, so who’s to say he didn’t knowingly have an heir? Heck, he could have had a score of children across the galaxy for just such an occasion. Kylo Ren could very well be attempting to bring back his father’ Empire by any means necessary, helping to create the First Order and the Knights of Ren.

Or Ren could be Palpatine’s son in a different way, he could be a clone of the Emperor in a much younger body! This is something that was explored in a lot of outside Star Wars media, the idea that Palpatine had created a slew of clones of himself to crack open when the original died. It would certainly be a great tie to the original trilogy while creating an entirely new character in the form of Kylo Ren. Check out “Shadows of the Empire”, a story that had originally taken place immediately following the events of Return of the Jedi, to give you a better idea of how Palpatine’s clones had hit the scene, and potentially could in the new films.

Darth Vader

I feel that this theory is the weakest of the bunch but it’s still certainly a possibility, considering Ren’s apparent admiration for Vader in the trailers and commercials that have been shown. You definitely get the feeling that everything Kylo Ren is doing is in the name of Darth Vader, so is it possible that Vader was somehow Ren’s father? Obviously, considering Ren’s age, he wouldn’t be a sibling of Luke and Leia, but it’s possible that Vader was able to sire a new heir before meeting his fate in Return of the Jedi. Maybe he was worried that Luke wouldn’t join him in the darkside and decided to create a new son to take up his legacy? Ren’s appearance is clearly modeled after Vader’s, so that could definitely be a “like father, like son” style of clothing for Kylo.

Regardless of who Kylo Ren turns out to be the progeny of, it’s clear that he’ll be another classic villain in the stable of timeless villains that Star Wars has presented us with. We’ll have to wait until December 17th to see if any of these theories come to pass!