J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker is arriving in theaters carrying a heavy burden. After all, it’s a movie that has been sold not only as the conclusion of the Sequel Trilogy that launched back in 2015, but the final chapter of the entire nine-film Skywalker Saga. Because of this, there are major expectations for it to fill in a lot of blanks, and resolve particular hanging story threads, and that’s a lot of weight for a single feature to handle.
Obviously there is going to be material that isn’t covered, and sometimes only hinted at – which is going to result in a lot of fan discussion and speculation in the coming years. Some audiences may not really enjoy this, but in the opinion of Kylo Ren himself, Adam Driver, the ambiguity of certain elements in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker is one of the most exciting aspects of the movie.
You can watch the actor discuss this part of the experience by clicking play on the video below:
Adam Driver’s appreciation of the ambiguity in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker came up in a strange way during my conversation with the actor earlier this month during the movie’s Los Angeles press day. Acknowledging that the Sequel Trilogy and Skywalker Saga were coming to a close, I asked if there was anything he personally believed about Kylo Ren that wasn’t featured in any of the films, and about how far he went as far as filling in certain gaps for himself.
The actor noted that understanding that kind of information was indeed part of his process starring in the recent run of Star Wars films, but he was reticent to share anything beyond that because of his feelings regarding the interaction between the audience and the franchise. Said Driver,
I don't want to shortchange it by saying what they are because I always feel that that's more exciting for an audience to attach meaning. And in a sense it doesn't really matter what my opinion is. It's for an audience to project their own meaning towards. And luckily we had a script that honors ambiguity.
Expanding on that point and speaking directly to the work done by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio on the script for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Adam Driver added that one thing that he very much appreciates about the new film is that he feels it doesn’t go overboard with exposition. Rather than just dumping a bunch of information on audiences via conversations between characters, the actor believes that it just delivers what you need to know, and then lets fans decide on the rest.
This is something that Adam Driver feels was a strength of the original Star Wars trilogy, and it’s a spirit that he thinks continues to live in the work done on Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. He explained,
They, I should say - Chris and J.J. - wrote something that is not always spelled out in the dialogue, which I love. It's not characters saying exactly what they're feeling. it's a Testament to, or keeps in the tradition of the original movies. They're filled with so much ambiguity and moments that I guess literally don't make sense, but there's an emotional truth about them that makes an audience project meaning.
One thing that’s certainly true: ambiguity very much helps any popular film remain relevant far beyond its release date. There are aspects of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker that are going to keep fans debating for decades, and ultimately that’s only helpful for the legacy of the blockbuster, as it will fully illustrate its deep impact on popular culture.
Of course, tonight is the night that thousands upon thousands of opinions are formed, as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is launching into theaters around the globe. We’re going to be following the release extremely closely here on CinemaBlend in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more features, interviews, editorials, and videos in the days ahead!
