Adam Driver’s iconic portrayal of Kylo Ren in the Star Wars franchise could have gone to Michael Fassbender!

Kylo Ren wasn’t an easy character to portray. Being a warrior who was strong with The Force, not many actors could have better portrayed the complexity of Kylo Ren other than Adam Driver. Being an iconic actor, Driver portrayed the role beautifully and the world loved him for it.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in a still from the Star Wars franchise | Lucasfilm
However, things weren’t so easy for Driver since he was also a bit hesitant before joining the franchise. With a plethora of actors wanting to portray the role, Driver took some time to consider the decision.

Adam Driver Was Hesitant For The Role of Kylo Ren

Call it nervousness or cold feet, but Adam Driver was not prepared to take on such a big role (during the initial days). When he was approached for the role, Driver felt a sense of joining something that is bigger than himself, and thus, was a lot of responsibility.
Adam Driver was praised by the world for his role as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars franchise | Lucasfilm

It was quite a few years back when a rumor was spread on the internet that Joaquin Phoenix and Adam Driver were in a race to portray the role of Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder’s 2016 film Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

During that same time, Driver was also in talks for portraying the role of Kylo Ren in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Well, fans were wondering whether the Zack Snyder film was the reason for Driver’s hesitation in joining the film.

However, in an interview with GQ, the actor later revealed that it wasn’t the case at all. Driver stated that he didn’t want to accidentally join a franchise that sacrificed their characters for glamour and glory.

I’m leery of big movies — a lot of them sacrifice character for spectacle. When they’re bad, it pisses me off — you can just tell it’s made by a bunch of executives somewhere.

The actor further continued that it was the complexity of Kylo Ren that eventually won him over.

I remember the initial conversations about having things ‘skinned,’ peeling away layers to evolve into other people, and the person Kylo’s pretending to be on the outside is not who he is.

He’s a vulnerable kid who doesn’t know where to put his energy, but when he puts his mask on, suddenly, he’s playing a role. JJ [Abrams] had that idea initially and I think Rian [Johnson] took it to the next level.

Well, it was a happy realization for Adam Driver since director J.J. Abrams was already considering other actors for the role. The original character of Kylo Ren was going to be a bit older and naturally, Abrams was looking to cast a veteran actor for the role.

It was revealed that Abrams was even considering one iconic Marvel actor who had portrayed the role of a superb antagonist just a year before Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

Michael Fassbender Could Have Replaced Adam Driver!

Veteran director J.J. Abrams had the idea that the character of Kylo Ren could be depicted as a bit older. Being on the path to the dark side, Abrams may have felt the need to showcase that Ren wasn’t just some spoiled kid shaking hands with the devil, but instead, an adult who had seen enough trauma.
Michael Fassbender as Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past | Marvel Entertainment
Naturally, the director was looking at veteran actors who could nail the role. During the early development of the script of The Force Awakens, Ren was referred to as the “Jedi Killer” and Abrams approached veteran actor Michael Fassbender for the opportunity.

Fassbender had portrayed the role of Magneto in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past and he became one of the top choices for J. J. Abrams. Although Fassbender would have been a good choice for the role, the rest, as we know, is history.

Adam Driver was selected for the iconic role and he nailed that performance down to the very core. The 2015 film received a rating of 7.8/10 on IMDB and a whopping 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.