Star Wars 9: Fan theory claims clue about Kylo Ren's redemption appears in A New Hope

Fans convinced Kylo Ren is secretly good

The release of Star Wars Episode IX is now just months away, meaning fans are speculating with renewed energy about the possible twists this new instalment might bring.

A lot of the attention has been focused on Kylo Ren and his allegiance to the dark side – with plenty of fans convinced that Adam Driver‘s character will be offered a redemption arc (which would be far from unheard of in the Stars Wars franchise).

One particular fan theory claims that a specific line in A New Hope, the first Star Wars film released in 1977, could foreshadow such a plot twist.

As pointed out by a Reddit user, Luke’s aunt Beru tells his uncle Owen about their nephew: “Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” responds Owen – a reference to the fact that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, which hasn’t been revealed at this point in the franchise.

In The Force Awakens, the first instalment of Star Wars‘s sequel trilogy, Han Solo and Leila have a similar exchange about their son Kylo Ren, who at this point appears lost to the dark side.

“There’s nothing more we could have done. There’s too much Vader in him,” Han tells Leia of Kylo.

The resemblance between the two lines has left some fans convinced that Kylo, like Luke, will eventually pledge allegiance to the light side of the Force.

“So obviously Luke never fully gave into the dark side and managed to redeem his father. Even after his struggle in The Last Jedi, it is clear that the Skywalker bloodline course corrects back to the light no matter how strong the pull of the dark is,” Reddit user ThatSoodooguy wrote.

“Since the whole saga is about balance and finding peace in conflict, I think it’s fitting that this would apply to Ben as well. We’ve heard over and over about how IX will end all three trilogies, so why wouldn’t this theme be carried forward as well?”

Other fans have pointed to another line, found in the Last Jedi (2017), which also appears to hint that Kylo (whose birth name was Ben Solo) could turn to the light side.

The line appears in a conversation between Snoke and Kylo, in which the former tells the latter: ”You have too much of your father’s heart in you, young Solo” – suggesting that Han’s influence on his son might prevail in the end.

Another fan theory has raised the possibility that Kylo could be a double agent pretending to serve the dark side, all the while acting for the greater good in secret.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released on 19 December in the UK and 20 December in the US.