While there are plenty of mysteries yet to be solved in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, two of the biggest involve the dark side of the Force. Adam Driver's crossguard-sabered Kylo Ren has been at the center of much fan speculation, but the same can also be said of the mysterious First Order. What are Ren's motivations as a member of the Knights of Ren? What are his ties to Darth Vader, if any? And how did the First Order emerge from the remnants of the old Empire? In a conversation with Empire, J.J. Abrams has revealed answers to all of those questions, which is surprising given his secretive nature.
Ren, who has been described as being an admirer of Darth Vader, isn't actually a Sith lord, according to Abrams. He takes his marching orders from a different source completely...
"Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force.”
Snoke is the motion-capture character that will be played by Andy Serkis. His voice can be heard in the narration of the film's first teaser, Ren's mask is an homage to Vader, but it makes sense that he wouldn't actually be a Sith given his ties to the Knights of Ren.
Some of the images seen of the First Order have suggested a Nazi-esque quality to them, and it turns out there's a reason for it according to Abrams...
“That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again? 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?”
So it turns out the First Order isn't actually a remnant of the Empire at all, but an Imperial fan club picking up where their heroes left off. That opens up a wealth of new story angles for Abrams and Co. to pursue that could be very interesting. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18th.
