Adam Driver Says THE FORCE AWAKENS Title is Referencing Both Rey and Kylo Ren

With only two weeks to go until Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released, fans are busy as ever trying to solve the mysteries of the trailers. I invite you to take a minute to stop focusing on whether or not Snoke is Darth Jar Jar to reflect back on the previous installment of this third trilogy, The Force Awakens.

Everyone knows that the title is referring to Rey and the Force awakening inside of her and her discovering it. Pretty obvious. Is that the only awakening that happened in that film? I personally believed that it was also awakening in Finn, but John Boyega seems to have shot that theory down. Well, Adam Driver who plays Kylo Ren had a thought regarding the title. In an interview with Empire, he stated:

“We find Darth Vader already completely committed; I was curious about starting with someone who was less together, who was starting in a place of self-doubt. The title of The Force Awakens wasn’t just referring to the light side, it was the dark side as well.”

Kylo Ren is not 100% dark side. I think you could argue he’s about 75% dark side, but not 100% and that’s what makes him a unique villain in this series. Based on the trailers for The Last Jedi, I get the feeling he has a lot of questions and a lot of doubt happening. What does it mean that the force awakened in him? Was it simply saying a push to the dark side or is there more to it?

In A New Hope, Obi-Wan explains the force to Luke. While Luke is learning to use a lightsaber, Obi-Wan says to let the force flow through him. Luke’s response is to ask if the Force controls one’s actions. Obi-Wan does not reject this idea but rather says, “Partially, but it also obeys your commands.” Is the awakening of the Force part of this idea of the Force having a will of its own and trying to control the events in a galaxy far, far away? Or is there another explanation? What are your thoughts?