Star Wars theories and leaks are usually a hit and a miss, but it looks like one popular Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker fan theory actually has weight to it.
Ever since Lucasfilm released new footage for The Rise of Skywalker during Disney's D23 Celebration this year, fans couldn't help but notice the scene where a pair of hands pieces the black shards of Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) helmet back together. Fans quickly compared the process of fixing the helmet to the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi where ancient ceramics are pieced back together using gold, silver, or platinum. Most fans speculated that the broken helmet would be indicative of Kylo Ren's state, and it seems like they're actually on point.
Speaking in an interview with Empire,Episode IX director J.J. Abrams confirmed that Kintsugi actually plays a role in the film, saying that the fractured but fixed helmet becomes a visual representation of how broken Kylo Ren is.
"Having [Kylo Ren] be masked, but also fractured, is a very intentional thing. Like that classic Japanese process of making ceramics and repairing them, and how the breaks in a way define the beauty of the piece as much as the original itself," the filmmaker explained in his interview with the entertainment news outlet, "As fractured as Ren is, the mask becomes a visual representation of that. There's something about this that tells his history. His mask doesn't ultimately hide him and his behavior is revealed."
It's interesting to see that the Kintsugi theory has been confirmed. The only question now is whether fractured Kylo Ren is ever going to find healing in The Rise of Skywalker. Despite all of the things that he's done in the sequel trilogy (killing his own father, hunting down his mother's rebellion) we're hoping that Kylo Ren heads towards the path of redemption in Episode IX.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres December 20, 2019.
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Star Wars: Episode IX