Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrams explains major Kylo Ren twist

Famously reticent actor wanted to make sure character had a purpose, filmmaker says

Warning: the story below contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

JJ Abrams has revealed how he convinced Harrison Ford to return to the Star Wars franchise for The Rise of Skywalker.

Ford, whose character Han Solo was killed in The Force Awakens by his son Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo, portrayed by Adam Driver), returns in Episode IX for a brief sequence that sees him once again interacting with his offspring.

According to Abrams, who also directed The Force Awakens, Ford wanted to make sure that his character would have a clear purpose before agreeing to appear in the franchise again.

Asked how he got Ford to appear in Episode IX, Abrams told Vanity Fair: “Well, I called him and I said, ‘We want to have a scene in the film between Kylo Ren and his father, would you do it?’ And he said, ‘Okay.’ It’s not more interesting!”

Abrams, however, did provide more detail about his exchanges with Ford regarding the final chapter of the sequel trilogy.

“We had a meeting and talked about what it would be,” the director said.

“Harrison, who is one of the great people ever, and incredibly thoughtful about everything that he does, all he ever wants is to understand the utility of the character. ‘What is my role?’ It was about sitting with him and explaining what our intention was.

“We talked about it for quite a while, I sent him the pages. He got it, and of course, as you can see, he was wonderful.”

The Rise of Skywalker is out in cinemas now.