Via Ew.com:

Long before we laid eyes on the face of Kylo Ren, our eyes flickered with the fire of his weapon: that scarlet lightsaber with the distinctive laser crossguard at the hilt and a volatile, sparking blade.

For a long time, it wasn’t even clear who played him until director J.J. Abrams revealed in June what many suspected. The villain of Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be played by Adam Driver, known for his dangerous charm on HBO’s Girls and films such as This Is Where I Leave You and While We’re Young.

We came to learn that he was allied with The First Order, a remnant of the Empire that remains a fearsome threat to the galaxy and its denizens. Above, he is seen flanked by their stormtroopers, striding with intense purpose through the smoldering ruins of a once peaceful village on Jakku.

What does he want? That much remains unclear, although he seems to be a Vader obsessive, with an appearance influenced by that dark lord of the Sith who met his demise long before Ren’s birth. “The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask,” Abrams tells EW. “[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film.”

As for his weapon of choice, Abrams can confirm what many suspected: it’s a tool he crafted all by his lonesome. “The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character,” Abrams says.

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