Rey and Kylo Ren having a kind of sexually charged relationship in Star Wars: The Last Jedi may have been the most shocking thing about the movie, including, of course, Kylo’s now-famous shirtless scene, in which we learn long-distance Force mind-melds are kind of like Facetime or Skype. But, the Lucasfilm Story Group has now implied that Rey and Kylo sort of had a connection since The Force Awakens.
On Wednesday, the Star Wars show published a special roundtable video featuring members of the Lucasfilm Story Group including Leland Chee, Pablo Hidalgo, Rayne Roberts and Matt Martin. On the subject of the mind-chats between Rey and Kylo Ren, Hidalgo noted that the effect was accomplished with “a low tech, cinematic trick…it’s the oldest cinematic trick. Eye-lines.” What Hidalgo means is that director Rian Johnson merely decided to shoot Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley looking at the camera, rather than have any crazy special effects to prove they were “seeing” each other from across vast distances.
But, the nature of their relationship itself was also briefly touched upon by Roberts. Stopping short of actually calling their relationship romantic or sexual, Roberts did heavily imply there is a thing between them. And that it was an idea that originated with Force Awakens co-screenwriter Lawerence Kasdan. “It’s something Larry Kasdan used to talk about when we were doing Force Awakens,” Roberts said. “It’s not in the script, but when he [Kylo Ren] peers into her [Rey’s] mind there’s something profound that happens between them. The way Larry used to describe it is that there’s this energy between them. Like this kind of almost…I don’t want to say it…but something a little bit more than you would expect.”
The line that fans almost never seem to talk about in The Force Awakens is when Kylo says to Rey “It’s all right, I feel it too.” What did he feel? That they had a crush on each other? Seems like yes.
Kylo Ren without a shirt in 'The Last Jedi.' Proving Rey can SEE him.
This will come as good news for Reylo shippers, fans who actively want a relationship between Kylo Ren and Rey. It looks like this was something the creative minds at Lucasfilm had been kicking around for awhile. But, if Daisy Ridley has her way, Rey won’t end up having a romance with anyone in Episode IX.
Hidalgo also compared the final exchange between Rey and Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi to a similar shot between Al Pacino and Diane Keaton in the original The Godfather. “It’s the Godfather shot,” Hidalgo says. “The door closing between Michael and Kay.” It’s a fair comparison, but thankfully, Rey has a little more agency in the Star Wars films than Kay had in The Godfather.
Watch the entire video right here.
