Discussion Does Ben Solo Deserve his own movie?

In all honesty, I don't think the character warrants a spin-off of any sort. We don't need to see his downfall, because we already had a whole trilogy and animated series going through his grandfather's more compelling and emotionally motivated descent to the Dark Side. Any sort of retcon would be just as pointless as doing some alternate universe movie where Anakin never fell, and just had fun going on adventures. It's just not who the character is. If they're going to return to the well of the ST at any point, which I hope they do, I'd rather see something revolving around Finn. Apart from that, I think the franchise is best served by introducing us to new heroes and villains, exploring new time periods, and telling new stories, with absolutely no connection to the Skywalker saga apart from being set in the same galaxy.

 

Agreed with all of that... including not wanting them to return to the ST, but IF they do, then that would be the preferable way for me.

We should give Pym a custom title.

 

not sure whether this is sarcasm,

hard to tell when half the mods hate the movies/characters of the franchise on a board they moderate.

 

It's not sarcasm... that shot was my favorite part of Ben Solo's return.

As to the other comment... mods are allowed to have our own opinions, and we're not required to love everything about the films, shows, etc. being discussed in the forums. But for me personally, my realization that I don't like the ST was part of why I decided to step down from modding in that particular forum.

 

ok, I liked it too.

Just to be clear my question wasn't meant to be flippant, was genuinely curious.

I actually respect that decision you took if that is the case, Kudos to you sir.

 

We should give Pym a custom title.[/QUOTE]
I'll take it.

I just feel like that would skirt too close to fostering a Clone Wars-esque sense of impending, foreboding tragedy, without as strong of a central conceit to build diverse stories around. When you go in knowing how that relationship is going to pan out, the expectation that everything we're seeing is going to lead to that point dominates the narrative. Not only would that be an issue for the writers to overcome, I think it would honestly be an issue for fans from an engagement standpoint as well. Anything that doesn't directly contribute to a growing rift between the two would feel like filler.

 

May be Ben Solo could be a What If style series, other than that it just seems so pointless at this time.

 

The character of Kylo Ren - a privileged and whiny bad boy white kid - was conceived in a different era. Things have changed a lot in entertainment since TFA, mostly for the better, and I think Lucasfilm understands that, and will therefore not be revisiting Kylo Ren as a main character.

 

I'd totally watch a romantic comedy between Rey and Kylo's Force ghost.

 

Oh, of course those attributes aren’t lauded. I’m just saying that focusing on a character with such a background - and on his redemption - may not be seen as ideal in the contemporary entertainment scene.

 

I really wish they had shown or explained how he found out about Vader being his grandfather instead of it being in a book. The things they used elsewhere to try and make him sympathetic failed because they were never on the big screen.

Also, I would be open to an animated show. It could give us more than just Kylo Ren and life at the temple in general in the time after the empire.

 

Not a fan of his character still , but I wouldn't actively oppose something other Star Wars fans would enjoy.

I wouldn't watch after what happened in the ST.

 

Si. Senor speaks truth.

 

I would have been interested if things went differently with TROS. But that film hampered my enjoyment of the character, and I'm happy to let him be now.

 

I think enough story has been focused (ruined) in service to the character of "Ben Solo". I would like it if we never even have a single reference to the character moving forward. 3 movies, and his motives for making a HUGE life changing choice, are still vague and virtually non-existent.

 

For two reasons, no. One, for the same reason Darth Vader doesn't need his own movie. Two, because Ben Solo, in my opinion, represents everything wrong with the sequel trilogy. Almost every problem with it is either exemplified and/or caused by Ben Solo. The storyline was already derailed to cater specifically to his own arc. He doesn't need any more focus. He's already stolen the spotlight from everyone around him— especially the characters of color.

 

It's that very reason that I wouldn't mind seeing a film or films not taking place after the ST but before; I would love to see the things that gave him those motives to turn to the Darkside. How did he get involved/what was his relationship with Snoke? What ultimately made him turn against Luke to the point where he was okay going against his own uncle? And I wouldn't mind seeing more fleshed out with the Knights of Ren-who could perhaps be actual characters in these films, rather than just interesting looking background figures. We could then also see things like Luke training at his Jedi temple, perhaps even the first hints of the emerging First Order, etc.

I know that sounds quite similar to the PT, but I really wouldn't mind seeing that part of the story fleshed out.

 

Maybe we should as, is Ben Solo entitled to his own movie?

 

I'd enjoy a Disney+ series (live action or animated) set between 8 and 9, after Kylo's first monumental failure as Supreme Leader, with plenty of flashbacks to Ben's initial fall, really zeroing in on his fatal flaw -- the fear of not living up to expectations (that he's not worthy of being the child of the great Rebellion heroes, that he's not as strong as Vader, that he's not being taken seriously as the Supreme Leader), the fear of what others think of him, a fear he's never able to shake, despite his solution of simply destroying whoever's causing him to feel inadequate, in the end, ironically being haunted by the seemingly unkillable ghost of his master.

I can imagine the final scene, cross-cutting between him putting on the mask for the first time, and him putting on the repaired mask, connecting up to 9, and showing his continued habit of hiding himself. I also think it'd be an interesting theme to deal with nowadays in the social media age, dealing with the pressure of not being good enough.

I wouldn't necessarily want a Ben Solo series exclusively though. Could just be a ST ensemble piece. I think you can tell a parallel story with Rey dealing with her own set of expectations, being the new Luke, so to speak, and I still think the definitive Finn/Poe story has yet to be told, really making use of their Stormtrooper/Rebel history. There could be a trippy episode telling Snoke's story, from his perspective, sometimes feeling like his actions are not his own, having motives but not understanding why, etc.