Despite knowing better, I wanted to believe that Disney was going to be uncharacteristically modest when it came to marketing Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But nope. Someone had to think of the toys. It appears the studio is carrying on with business as usual, although there does seem to be a degree of control concerning what kind of footage from the highly anticipated film is released (here’s hoping there’s no “Hulk saving Iron Man”-level spoilers in forthcoming TV spots). The onslaught continues today not with footage, but a new image, and it’s a photo of the seventh episode’s Big Bad: Kylo Ren.

Adam Driver was one of the most exciting casting choices early on, and it signaled that director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy were keen on casting interesting performers, not just ones that could boost the box office profile of the movie. We still know very little about the character of Kylo Ren, other than the fact that he’s part of the Knights of Ren and is more than a little obsessed with Darth Vader and the Empire. How does that figure into the story of Finn and Rey? We’ll find out next month…or before then in a TV spot probably.

Speaking with Empire, which has a new photo of Ren sporting his seriously cool lightsaber and some seriously poor posture, Driver says he never thought of the character as a bad guy, but more of a religious fanatic:

“When they think of their actions as morally justified, it makes them dangerous and unpredictable. There’s no level they won’t go to to accomplish what they’re after. I never thought of the character as an evil person.”

That’s an incredibly smart angle from which to tackle a villain, and I’m optimistic that we’re in for something much more complex than the traditional blockbuster baddie. Check out the photo below. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters on December 18th.

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Image via Lucasfilm

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Image via Lucasfilm