Will Kylo Ren Kill Leia in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi?’

The full trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi is here! And with the trailer come so many new questions about what this eighth chapter of the saga has in store!

The trailer for The Last Jedi painted the darker picture of a second chapter to the sequel trilogy, in which both Rey (Daisey Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) search for meaning to define the raw power they respectively wield.

As we saw, for Rey that means trying to forge a bond with Jedi Master Luke, but for Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo), we saw teases of a much more tragic right of passage: killing his mother, Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher).

So will Kylo Ren really kill Leia in Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Here are the likely possibilities:

Kylo the Kinslayer

The scene in question from the trailer involves Kylo Ren flying his sleek TIE Silencer on an attack of a Resistance ship that is seemingly carrying Leia. There’s a classic Star Wars moment where the mother/son Force users seem to sense one another, with Kylo/Ben’s finger hovering ominously over the trigger of a locked-on missile.

Given the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there’s an easy assumption to make: Kylo must complete his conversion to the darkside by following the murder of his father, Han Solo, with the murder of his mother, Princess Leia. And he does the deed. 

The death of Carrie Fisher left Star Wars: The Last Jedi with a dilemma, since Leia was originally supposed to appear in Star Wars IX. Having Kylo Ren take out Leia in this moment (somewhere in the second act), would give Leia an fittingly epic death, made all the more poignant due to the whole mother-son bond.

This could also be what the exact sort of reveal that Last Jedi director Rian Johnson wanted fans to avoid, when cautioning them against watch this trailer. However, there is another possibility…

Seeing the Light

Johnson and the Star Wars filmmakers have become masters at controlling spoilers, so it may be just as likely that this moment in the trailer is meant to be major misdirection. Maybe Kylo Ren doesn’t commit the ultimate betrayal, after all. 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi could indeed be saving a massive twist for fans, if Kylo Ren gets to the moment where he’s supposed to pass Snoke’s final, ultimate test (killing his mother) and doesn’t do it! That decision would rekindle the light side of Force that we already know exists inside of Ben Solo, as Snoke, Han, Leia, and the mysterious Lor San Tekka all state it’s there, during the course of The Force Awakens. 

That would paint the end of the trailer in a very different light. If Kylo betrays Snoke, The Supreme Leader will probably take Leia out himself (and Luke too), leaving Ben Solo to offer his hand to Rey in support. That would make the title “The Last Jedi” a plural play on words, with Rey and Ben teaming up to lead The Resistance against Snoke. 

That’s all speculation of course, but the ultimate point is this: don’t believe what your eyes see in the trailer, for they can deceive you. Do you think Kylo Ren will kill Leia? Or will her sacrifice bring Ben Solo back to the light? Let us know @ComicbookNOW!

Star Wars: The Jast Jedi will be in theaters on December 15th.