Star Wars May Finally Answer a Lingering Kylo Ren Question

Star Wars may finally be answering a long-lingering question in the story of Kylo Ren: namely, how he ended up with Darth Vader’s helmet in his possession! 

The new anthology book Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – From A Certain Point of View tells a variety of short stories from around the time period when the events of Return of the Jedi took place (5 ABY). One of those short stories, “The Steadfast Soldier” by Adam Christopher, seems to be exploring a key moment during the Battle of Endor and The Rebel Alliance’s attack on the Death Star II. As one excerpt describes: 

This was not glory. And it most certainly was not victory. They had… lost. 

Pryde felt his heart kick into high gear as he remembered, the shock suddenly bringing him out of his daze, as effectively as a job from a bantha prod.

They had lost, and the lights in the sky, visible despite the dawn, were not fireworks or meteor storm. They were the last burning remnants of the greatest fleet the Empire had ever assembled, the blasted debris raining down across the entire Endor System.

Star Wars fans are now taking some big leaps, based on this simple description. It’s clear the story is about an Imperial soldier named “Pryde” stationed on a planet in the Endor System (where the Empire hid the shield-generating base for the Death Star II); what is less clear, however, is what relevance this story will have in the larger Star Wars Saga. 

The setting of the Endor System during the destruction of the Death Star II and Imperial Fleet would obviously yield one potentially-important artifact: Darth Vader’s helmet.

Why Kylo Ren’s Darth Vader Helmet Is A Star Wars Mystery

Kylo Ren having Darth Vader’s severely damaged helmet in Star Wars: The Force Awakens never really made sense within the canon. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo never set foot onto the Death Star until Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and wasn’t even born when the Battle of Endor was fought (he would be six months later). Vader took off his helmet in his last moments of life after Luke Skywalker’s battle with Emperor Palpatine, but Luke Skywalker returned it to his head before placing his father’s body on a funeral pyre at the end of the film. 

Could “The Steadfast Soldier” reveal a scene where Imperial soldier “Pryde” stumbles upon Vader’s remains and retrieves the helmet? If that’s the case, it could explain how Vader’s helmet made it off of Endor and into Kylo Ren’s possession years later.

In fact, “The Steadfast Soldier” could connect back to another Star Wars short story: “The Perfect Weapon” by Delilah S. Dawson, which was included in the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens short-story anthology. That New Republic-era story followed mercenary Bazine Netal (the woman who led The First Order to Maz Katna’s castle in Force Awakens) on a suspicious mission: recovering a mystery package from the corpse of a former Imperial Stormtrooper captain named Jor Tribulus. Netal delivered the case to a mysterious client and established a direct line to the leadership of the First Order as one of their spies. 

It’s long been theorized that Tribulus was keeping Vader’s helmet in that case and that Bazine Netal got it back for Kylo Ren. “The Steadfast Soldier” could concievably be the preceding piece of that story, which shows how Imperial remnants around Endor first stole the helmet, and how it ended up in Tribulus’ hands, as commander. 

Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi – From A Certain Point of View will be released on August 29th.