<P> Abrams told Empire in August 2015 , `` Kylo Ren is not a Sith . He works under Supreme Leader Snoke , who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force . '' Abrams had previously told Entertainment Weekly that the character , `` came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren . '' Robbie Collin of The Telegraph described Ren as `` a hot - headed , radicalised Dark Side jihadi , whose red lightsaber splutters and crackles as violently as his temper '' . Abrams noted , `` The lightsaber is something that he built himself , and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character . '' The Telegraph also explains that Ren 's wild and erratic temper and `` angsty '' instability make him dangerous . Melissa Leon of The Daily Beast describes Ren 's use of the Force as `` formidable '' , citing his ability to stop a blaster shot mid-air , immobilize victims and probe their minds against their will . </P>
where does kylo ren 's name come from
the character , `` came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren . ''