Director J.J. Abrams' upcoming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" promises to combine the heroes of the original trilogy with a new generation of characters. Although "Star Wars" fans have elicited bits and pieces of information about these new characters from the powers that be, not a whole lot is known about their origins, backstory's and roles in the film. Fortunately, Abrams tossed "Star Wars" fans a bone when he briefly discussed Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke and the evil entity known only as The First Order in a recent interview with Empire Magazine.
"'Kylo Ren is not a Sith,' confirms J.J. Abrams in the new issue of Empire. 'He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force.'"
It sounds as if Kylo Ren is the new trilogy's version of Darth Vader; a Dark Side Force user who serves the true Big Bad. It appears as if Snoke is the primary villain pulling the strings similar to the Emperor from the original trilogy.
But how did Snoke and The First Order come to power?
"'That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?' Abrams reveals. 'What could be born of that? Could The First order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn't get done?'"
The First Order is a faction of the Empire that rose to power following the deaths of Vader and the Emperor. In the intervening 30 years, they have fought the Resistance for control of the galaxy. Based on comments from Abrams, Kylo Ren hopes to finish what Vader started which is why he has modeled his battle outfit after him. It is not known, however, how he came about his Force abilities without training as a Sith. Neither is it known where Snoke's knowledge of the Dark Side originated from.
That's probably for the better as it leaves a considerable amount of questions left to be answered when "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" hits theaters on Dec. 18.
