Was Kylo Ren's birth name homage to Obi-wan's?

Was Kylo Ren's birth name homage to Obi-wan's? - Person Holding a Wet Brown Flat Shoe

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens we learn that Han's and Leia's son, Kylo Ren, was born as Ben.

Now while in A New Hope Leia's message to Obi-wan called him as such, when Luke went to rescue her on the Death Star she called him Ben Kenobi

Leia: You're who?
Luke: I'm here to rescue you. I've got your R2 unit. I'm here with Ben Kenobi.
Leia: Ben Kenobi is here! Where is he?

So was Kylo Ren's birth name homage Obi-wan's?



Best Answer

Possibly, yes.

Many fans know that when Disney bought Lucasfilm, the former canon was reconed to "Legacy" to make way for their new canon. What many fans didn't know is that Disney's new canon would continue to borrow from old canon--recontexualizing it within the new.

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s. http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page

Thrawn Rebels

So one place where the former canon seems to be borrowing from is in regards to the new canon is from the former Thrawn Trilogy, which features characters such as Thrawn (now featured in Star Wars Rebels and with a new novel from Timothy Zahn) and the next generations of Skywalkers...

Next Gen

In the previous canon we had Hans' and Leia's children, twins Jacen and Jaina Solo whom were trained under Luke at his new Jedi school, along with his own son, Ben Skywalker (Named after Obi-Wan Kenobi). Jacen Solo eventually turns to the dark the side becoming Darth Caedus.

"I'm just afraid of placing an extra one on his shoulders. Suppose I named him Obi-Wan, as a salute to my old master? Would he think that means that I want him to grow up to be a Jedi? Would he think he had to live up to Ben's reputation?" ?Luke Skywalker[src]

Jacen Ben

So when we look at the former source material fans may be able to see blendings of the old characters into the new, with Kylo Ren being Jacen Solo-esque, but with Ben Skywalker's first name (and then one may speculate like the former, he too was also named after "Uncle Ben".) With Rey maybe having characteristics a little of Jaina, but probably more like Ben Skywalker (in initial personality), although she may not be a Skywalker at all...

Jiana fights Jacen

Jaina Solo may have been in part built into Jyn Erso, as Jyn has similar stylization to the former Jaina...

Jaina Jyn

Note: I would also like to point out that Ewan Mcgregor reprised his role by lending his voice to the flashback sequence in The Force Awakens. It could just be a fun easter-egg, but the context of his instructions to Rey, may imply that Obi-Wan could play a more substantial role either in pre TFA history and/or in upcoming films.




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Is KYLO named after Obi-Wan?

He was named after Obi-Wan \u201cBen\u201d Kenobi, the Jedi Master who aided in Leia's rescue from the Death Star only five years earlier. He was a fairly happy child, content in the presence of his mother and father, and he demonstrated strong abilities with the Force early on in his life.

Why did Obi-Wan choose the name Ben?

In the story, we learn that Obi-Wan took on the name Ben because it's a nickname given to him by an old flame, the Duchess Satine Kryze. He takes on the name because it still has emotional resonance for him.

Why was KYLO named Ben?

So, even when she eventually learns his real name, Leia always associated the Jedi Master with Ben rather than Obi-Wan. Inspired by this, it makes sense that she decided to name her son Ben Solo \u2014 after Ben Kenobi.



Kylo Ren Explained (Star Wars: The Force Awakens Explored)




More answers regarding was Kylo Ren's birth name homage to Obi-wan's?

Answer 2

There is nothing I can cite from the films that would prove this beyond certainty but it is, in my and other fans opinion, fairly obvious by process of elimination - there are no other characters in the episodes with this name. Again, although it it not specified in any of the films it appears that Obi - Wan took on the name Ben after going into exile on Tatooine following the Emperors purge of the Jedi, he was a close friend of Bail Organa, adoptive father of Leia and was more or less directly responsible for Leia and Han's meeting aboard the Death Star, ultimately becoming as important a figure to Han as he was to Leia and Luke.

The Star Wars Wiki 'Wookieepedia' states on it's page on Kylo Ren "Ben Solo's namesake was that of the late Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who went by the name of Ben Kenobi while in exile on Tatooine after the fall of the Jedi Order."

Link here - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kylo_Ren

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Taryn Elliott, Taryn Elliott, Pixabay, Masood Aslami