Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures Shows How Kylo Ren Follows Darth Vader’s Footsteps

An episode of the web series Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures shows how Kylo Ren walks in the footsteps of Darth Vader. Star Wars: The Force Awakens made clear that Kylo Ren idolized his grandfather, Darth Vader. Kylo seemed to abandon that idol worship in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He returned to the ways of the Sith after meeting Vader’s old master, Emperor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This episode, title “Kylo Ren and Darth Vader – A Legacy of Power,” highlights specific similarities in their journeys. As Vader battled his Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: A New Hope, Kylo battles Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. As Vader commanded the force fo the Galactic Empire, Kylo Ren commands the forces of the First Order. And then there’s Kylo Ren’s headwear, inspired by Vader’s helmet. You can watch the short above.

In Colin Trevorrow’s version of The Rise of Skywalker, these parallels would have come to a head with a duel between Kylo Ren and Darth Vader. The duel would have taken place during Kylo’s Sith training. Vader would have been a Force vision, mirroring Luke Skywalker’s experience on Dagobah in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The battle would have been intense, and the Vader vision would have defeated Kylo Ren.

Earlier versions of The Rise of Skywalker would have had another parallel to the original Star Wars trilogy. Concept art revealed in The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker shows a version of Kylo and Rey‘s duel taking place in Emperor Palpatine’s throne room. This would have paralleled the duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Instead, the final cut of the film has Kylo and Rey dueling on the ruins of the second Death Star, where Vader and Luke’s duel took place. When Kylo and Rey face Palpatine, Kylo has reverted to being Ben Solo and he stands with Rey rather than against her.

As described on the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel, “Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures is a series of animated shorts celebrating the characters and stories of a galaxy far, far away, featuring a bright and colorful art style, exciting action, and insight into the saga’s greatest themes!”

What do you think of the Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures episode “Kylo Ren and Darth Vader – A Legacy of Power”? Let us know in the comments.