Kylo Ren is surely not any returning character from the original trilogy. This was pretty much confirmed when Lucasfilm allowed Entertainment Weekly, in their aforementioned interview article with J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, to reveal that Darth Vader met his demise long before Rens birth. Kylo Ren, then, was born after Return Of The Jedis climactic Battle of Endor. He couldnt secretly be Luke Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine or any other original trilogy character, if this information is true. Hes a comparatively young guy, whos been inspired by stories of Vader and the Empire to become a villain in his own right. This has been backed up by the image above. Lucasfilm cleared this picture for publication, showing Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, without his mask on or his hood up. This, for many, is proof enough that Kylo is an original character who hasnt been in a Star Wars film before. Admittedly, J.J. Abrams could be bluffing. He could have a massive rug-pull in store that will result in a healthy amount of egg on my face. At this stage, though, it seems highly unlikely that Kylo Ren isnt a new character. Hes a fierce threat and a powerful dark side user, but Luke Skywalker he aint.
