Star Wars is coming to Japan, but not in its usual Hollywood-produced film form. The film saga is getting a Kabuki stage play. What’s more, one of Japan’s biggest stars will be playing Kylo Ren.
The new kabuki play is titled Star Wars Kabuki-Rennosuke Hikarigatana Sanbon (Star Wars Kabuki-Rennosuke and the Three Light Sabers), and it will be shown for one night only, on November 28th, at an unannounced theater (via SoraNews).
It’s worth mentioning the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind kabuki play is roughly a week after – read more about that here.
Ichikawa Ebizo, one of Japan’s biggest Kabuki stars, will be playing the angsty and troubled character Kylo Ren in the play along with other well known Kabuki actors.
The actor stated he’s a good fit due to his own loss that he’s dealt with and he relates to the Skywalker family’s losses as his wife Mao Kobayashi, a well known newscaster, passed away at 34 from breast cancer.
Ebizo has become a symbol of single fatherhood in Japan afterward, even having one son develop into an aspiring Kabuki actor himself like his dad.