Star Wars revealed a new Kylo Ren replacement as a part of one of its latest star-faring stories. Kylo, played by Adam Driver in Lucasfilm's Sequel Trilogy, has become a fan favorite. Whether it was his worship of the fearsome Darth Vader, pursuit of the force-sensitive Rey, or his eventual turn to the light side, the character has been explored plenty in the Star Wars universe. However, at least on-screen, one aspect that remains largely shrouded in shadow was his affiliation with the mysterious Knights of Ren.
A new comic series revealed a new character, replacing Adam Driver's Kylo Ren as the leader of the Knights of Ren. Since February 2025, the canon Star Wars comic Star Wars: Legacy of Vader has focused on Kylo Ren upholding the dark side-wielding legacy of Darth Vader between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker without his band of knights.
Their absence has finally been explained, as Kylo looks to no longer be the head of the Knights of Ren snake. A new variant cover for Legacy of Vader #8 (shared online by Star Wars Holocron) highlighted a new-to-the-comic character, Tava Ren, who has taken over as the leader of the terrifying team.
Tava is said to be the group's new leader, taking over for Kylo Ren. However, to inspire her followers' complete devotion, she must first kill Kylo.
The official plot synopsis for the upcoming comic issue describes this epic turn of events, revealing that fans will "learn the dark secrets of this mysterious group of villains," as well as the nefarious lengths that Tava will go to put her blood-soaked plan into action:
"THE KNIGHTS OF REN RETURN WITH A NEW LEADER — TAVA REN! In order to control the Knights of Ren, TAVA must KILL KYLO REN! Learn the dark secrets of this mysterious group of villains! What subterfuge will this new warrior use to get what she wants?"
While not confirmed, this new leader and Kylo are supposedly headed on a collision course toward one another, and well, based on timeline placement, we know that Kylo makes it out alive, so things are not looking too hot for Tava.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #8 comes to comic book stores worldwide on September 3, 2025, from writer Charles Soule (Star Wars: Light of the Jedi) and illustrator Stefano Raffaele (The Blackburne Covenant).
The latest entry into the ongoing Star Wars and Marvel Comics collaboration marks the eighth chapter in a 10-issue story from the team. No release information for the run's final two issues has been made public.
Will Kylo Ren Ever Return to the Star Wars Universe?
While Tava Ren may be sitting at the head of the Knights of Ren table right now (at least in comic book form), many would agree that there is nothing Disney and Lucasfilm could possibly do to replace Adam Driver's Kylo Ren.
However, it has now been over half a decade since the character was last heard from in the beloved sci-fi franchise. So, when is he going to be back, if ever?
Over the years, plenty of speculation has been made about potential Kylo-focused projects on the big or small screen for Lucasfilm to tackle. However, none of them have come to fruition.
With the character seemingly dead by the time Episode IX ends, it makes it quite hard for Adam Driver's Star Wars character to get back on-screen, but, in the galaxy far, far away, there is always a way. The most likely place, at this point, for Kylo to pop back up again would be in the upcoming Rey-focused New Jedi Order movie.
Perhaps, Daisy Ridley's Jedi master will commune with the ghost of her former force-wielding cohort like Luke Skywalker did with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Original Trilogy. That would only make sense.
Although given recent reports that the Rey movie has been shelved indefinitely, that theory is looking less likely to happen than it once did.
