So this explains why Kylo Ren had Darth Vader’s helmet

Even though he doesn’t appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Darth Vader plays a huge role. As you can probably guess, there are spoilers ahead (but also, why haven’t you seen Force Awakens yet?).

One, of the many, big questions to come out of Force Awakens is simply, how did Kylo Ren get Vader’s helmet? Last we saw the mask, Vader’s son, Luke Skywalker, was burning it. Along with the rest of Vader, in a funeral pyre on Endor. Cut to Force Awakens, and Vader’s grandson, Ben Solo Kylo Ren has frequent chats with this inanimate object. Clearly there are some pieces of this story missing, and unfortunately they’re not explained whatsoever during the movie. However, the answer may be out there if you know where to look.

Before Force Awakens was released, a few short Star Wars stories were released and not only are all of them canon, but they tie into the movie, too. As first pointed out by YouTube channel, StarWarsMinute, the story “The Perfect Weapon” follows First Order supporter, Bazine Netal (she’s the woman who tips off the First Order to BB-8’s location at Maz Kanata’s cantina). Bazine is hired to retrieve a mysterious package from a former stormtrooper, and bring it to her unseen and unnamed employer.

The contents of the package are never revealed, but this former stromtrooper just so happens to have fought in the Battle of Endor (the big battle at the end of Return of the Jedi). Putting two and two together, it can be assumed that the package is Darth Vader’s helmet, and the mysterious employer is Kylo Ren himself. The theory goes that this former stormtrooper came across the helmet, kept it, and as a Darth Vader fanboy, now Kylo Ren is trying to collect all the Vader memorabilia out there.

At least, this is what StarWarsMinute believes, and you can check out their video below. It’s a pretty good theory and we’ll believe it’s true — unless Episode VIII tells us otherwise.

Image via Lucasfilm