Star Wars: 10 Things The Last Jedi Has To Explain
2. Does Vader's Mask Still Have Power?
The idea of Force-imbued artefacts is common in the expanded universe of novels, games and roleplaying products, the bloated canon labelled as 'Legends' by Disney. With Luke's lightsaber triggering Rey's Force visions, the idea has survived into the new trilogy of movies. Another artefact given screen time in The Force Awakens is Darth Vader's mask, presumably salvaged from Vader's funeral pyre on Endor after the end of Return of the Jedi.
Could the mask, like the lightsaber, possess its own measure of power? It has seen countless atrocities and uses of Dark Side power while bolted to Darth Vader's skull, and the way Kylo Ren addresses it suggests it holds a fascination for him.
The sight of the ruined mask made for a great teaser image for the trailer, but it could be so much more. Does it have a hold over Ren? Is it the receptacle for Vader's Dark Side spirit, the worst elements of him forced out of his mind by Vader's turn towards good? Or is it no more than a piece of room decoration for Kylo Ren?