Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 10 Ways It Sets Up Episode IX

7. Kylo Ren As The Main Bad Guy

Star Wars The Last Jedi Trailer Kylo Ren
Lucasfilm

Everyone assumed that Supreme Leader Snoke would be the primary baddie of both Episode VIII and Episode IX, so it was a surprise when he was killed off, leaving Kylo Ren in charge of the First Order.

This makes Kylo the Resistance's main opposition in Episode IX. We already saw him trying to finish them off during the Battle Of Crait, his thirst for power and need to wipe out the past compelling him to finish the Resistance once and for all.

And though he's unsuccessful, this drive is presumably still within him, and he'll carry on his hunt once Episode IX picks up.

And, from the Resistance's point of view, Kylo is their primary target. With him gone, the First Order would lack any Force users, making them much less of a threat than they were before.

Leia has also resigned herself to the fact that Kylo needs to die, after practically giving Luke her blessing to go out and kill him. She knows her son is basically gone, and after a failed attempt to turn him to the light side, Rey is starting to realise this too.

All this conflict is likely to come to a head in the next episode, with Kylo and the Resistance squaring off to determine the fate of the galaxy.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!