J.J. Abrams Says Kylo Ren Is Not A Sith In 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

We're just under four months away from the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and even with a large chunk of the toys hitting shelves on Friday having leaked online, the Mystery Box surrounding the Star Wars sequel is still very much intact.

However, the latest issue of Empire shines a light on Episode VII, the beginning of a new trilogy, and director J.J. Abrams has confirmed what some fans have long presumed about the new villain. Kylo Ren is not a Sith. More below!

In a brief article by Empire (we'll likely get more details from this issue as they become available), Abrams flat out said:

"Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force."

This is an extremely interesting confirmation. While fans have assumed that Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) was not a Sith, mostly because he's clearly a superior figure among The First Order, not to mention being part of some organization called the Knights of Ren this has only raised more questions as to what his motivation is in the movie. Why has he sided with The First Order? What do the Knights of Ren want, and how does it align with what The First Order wants?

Abrams gives us a tiny hint into the inspiration behind The First Order, which we've surmised is just the remnants of the Empire trying to survive and maintain their hold on the galaxy, thanks to the forthcoming Shattered Empire story. Here's what Abrams said about The First Order:

"That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again? What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn't get done?"

The influence of Nazis in depicting the Empire is nothing new, so it makes sense that this hypothetical of what the Nazis might have done after losing the war serves as an idea for where The First Order comes from. Though again, their agenda may be slightly different since they're not aligned with Sith anymore, but rather Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke.

Speaking of which, it's also intriguing Abrams describes Supreme Leader Snoke (the motion-capture character played by Andy Serkis and heard in the first teaser trailer's voiceover) as "a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force." Under normal circumstances, that would probably just be a Sith. But it sounds like whatever Snoke and Kylo Ren want to achieve may be something different than what the Sith as a whole wanted. Maybe they want to bring balance to the Force the way some thought Darth Vader was meant to, hence him being viewed as a martyr.

Stay tuned to see if anymore juicy details about Star Wars: The Force Awakens come from Empire's latest issue. And if you haven't seen their commemorative covers featuring the light side and the dark side, check them out right here.

What do you make of Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke at this point?