You Can Stream Disney Japan's Star Wars Kabuki Adaptation

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to debut in just a matter of weeks, and fans are already [...]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to debut in just a matter of weeks, and fans are already eager and nervous to see how the "Skywalker Saga" comes to a close. One of the most unpredictable players in that finale is set to be Ben Solo/Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), whose tie to the Dark Side and potential redemption has been debated about quite a bit. While we've seen a bit of Kylo's journey into becoming a leader of the First Order, a unique new adaptation of his story recently became available to watch online. On November 28th, an official kabuki stage show inspired by the sequel trilogy was performed in Tokyo, Japan. The Star Wars Kabuki production, which had begun to be announced earlier this month, was officially live-streamed on Disney's Japanese YouTube channel and is still available to watch online in the embed above.

Star Wars Kabuki was overseen by Ichikawa Ebizo XI, a legendary kabuki actor who also portrayed Kylo Ren in the production. The fifty-minute live-stream also appears to feature appearances from C3-PO, R2D2, BB-8, and even Luke Skywalker.

The production was set to interpret the franchise's theme of "family, love, and loss" through the iconic form of Japanese dance-drama. As Ebizo said in a statement earlier this month, the performance will be enjoyable "whether you're a Star Wars lover or a Kabuki lover".

In a way, Kylo's arc is perfectly tragic for the world of kabuki theater, especially as his potential redemption currently hangs in the balance.

"Are you kidding? Vader was worse than Kylo ever was, I think, and Vader got redeemed." The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson said in 2017. "Also, I should just for the record [say] that I'm not involved in the writing of the next movie. I'm an audience member in it, just like you, so when I talk about what's going to happen next it's in the context of, as a fan, what I'm thinking of."

Will you be checking out Star Wars' official kabuki production? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released on December 20th.

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