Wreck-It Ralph 2 had to cut a joke about Kylo Ren being a petulant little shit
The Last Jedi’s Kylo Ren is a very serious boy. Played by Adam Driver, the character is ruthless, emotional, and probably the kind of guy who thinks animated Star Wars shows are for babies. Disney would like to maintain this mystique, it appears, as they reportedly nixed a Ren cameo in the new Wreck-It Ralph movie.
Directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston and head of story Josie Trinidad joined IGN for a chat about the film, during which they revealed that Lucasfilm was none too pleased with the bit. “At one point we had a joke about Kylo Ren being kind of a spoiled child,” Moore said. “We went to Lucasfilm and said, here’s what we’re doing. And they said, well, we’d prefer that you don’t show him as a spoiled child. You know, he is our villain, and we’d prefer you don’t do that. So we were respectful of that.”
The trio does admit disappointment, however, describing their decision to take “playful jabs” at Disney characters as “loving satire.”
It’s an interesting question, though: Is it too soon to lampoon the character, especially when his story isn’t even finished? They mention their inclusion of C-3PO as a butler to the Disney princesses, but C-3PO’s been in the pop culture zeitgeist for decades. Ren is, in many ways, still a bit of a mystery, so portraying him as whiny baby or something could very well color the perceptions of the very same audience that’s meant to fear him come Episode IX.
Granted, those very same kids have probably seen all the “swole Kylo” memes by now, so it’s all fairly moot anyways.
Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, which finds its namesake venturing online (hopefully far from 4chan), opens on November 2.