Star Wars Episode IX reports have Kylo Ren sporting a new-old look

Costume changes can signal changes in character, and according to the latest in Star Wars Episode IX rumors, something may be on the way for Kylo Ren.

Editor’s note: As Making Star Wars noted in its own report, this post will contain information we’re not intended to know about Star Wars: Episode IX at this time. Make of it what you will.

If the latest rumors to come out of the Star Wars fandom are any indication, Episode IX may deprive us of getting to look at Kylo Ren’s luscious locks, which clearly use some of the best product that the galaxy has to offer. That’s because, according to Making Star Wars, linked above, he’s going back to the helmeted look for Episode IX: “To [MSW’s sources,] it looked like the mask was pieced back together using some kind of red crystalline bonding material.”

One has to wonder if the “red crystalline bonding material” might be partially made out of kyber crystals, as those also play a major role in assembling lightsabers. While we don’t think Kylo Ren would necessarily devote a ton of his time to rebuilding and repossessing the Skywalker lightsaber in Episode IX, he could very well keep the broken remnants (should he retrieve them from Rey) alongside Darth Vader’s twisted, burnt helmet and use extra kyber crystals to help fuse his mask together instead.

After all, taking the mask off makes him vulnerable back during the events of The Force Awakens; he mostly keeps it off during The Last Jedi, where that vulnerability seems to lure Rey in on some level.

However, as MSW reminds us, Kylo Ren will be the leader of the First Order in Episode IX. Snoke had his own ways of conveying how terrifying he is by using massive holograms despite not really being all that large in real life; perhaps Kylo Ren will choose instead to put his damaged, repaired mask back on to show how deep in the trenches he’s gone and again call back to Darth Vader.

MSW also notes in its report that it doesn’t know how often he’ll wear the mask in Episode IX, which could suggest something like a Force Awakens-type split. In other words, he could wear it when he’s doing his full on Supreme Leader work, then pull it off again when he’s trying to lure Rey back or even confront his mother, if that’s going to happen. In other words, keep a close eye on it if it really does appear, since it could be a visual clue as to what Kylo Ren will be up to in Episode IX.

Star Wars Episode IX will hit theaters in December 2019.