Star Wars Finally Reveals Who Adam Driver And Lupita Nyong'o Are Playing

Today has the potential to be a very exciting day in the world of Star Wars and the Star Wars universe. Obviously, it’s May the 4th, which has become an unofficial holiday for fans. But with so many exciting Star Wars projects on the horizon, today’s suddenly the perfect day for Lucasfilm and Disney to drop important information… like the identity of the character Adam Driver is playing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

It has been suspected for months that the Girls co-star was playing the mysterious Kylo Ren in J.J. Abrams’ movie, and the fact has been confirmed in a new piece in Vanity Fair tied to May the 4th. Also, as fans suspected, that IS Driver brandishing the dangerous three-pronged lightsaber in the above photograph. And an exclusive photo of Driver with some costumed stormtroopers – ready for an arctic blast – made the rounds on Twitter early this morning:

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Adam Driver was associated with The Dark Side, purely by the process of elimination. We’ve already received confirmation of the characters being played by Daisy Ridley (Rey), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) and John Boyega (Finn), as all three appeared at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim to discuss their roles in the growing tapestry with fans. With this confirmation, we can begin to prepare to hate Driver with a passion, as he’s bound to cause pain and suffering for a new generation of Star Wars loyalists.

But what of the next batch of supporting characters. There are a number of important people we have yet to identify, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Game of Thrones badass Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina, Frank), Andy Serkis and Max von Sydow still live in the shadows when it comes to Star Wars identity reveals – though there has been more than enough speculation. Part of the Star Wars content in Vanity Fair this morning, though, discusses Lupita Nyong’o’s character… revealing in the process that her name will be Maz Kanata, and she’ll be CGI.

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The "email reveal" in that Tweet refers to a final character reveal that Vanity Fair says will be delivered to the inboxes of fans who sign up for their newsletter, so follow this link and do that. And keep watching this page all day, because I have a strange feeling a TON of Star Wars news is on its way.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.