If you saw last night’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer, then you saw Kylo Ren is going through some stuff. He has robotic mesh in the scar left by Rey’s Lightsaber hit, he’s possibly about to kill his other parent, and he’s ditched his helmet. While we will have to wait till December to find out what happens with most of the things we just mentioned, we now at least know why he even had the helmet in the first place, and what the lack of it could possibly mean for the future of his character.

At an exhibit of Star Wars items featured at NYCC, the caption next to his helmet did more to explain why he had it than anything we’ve ever learned about the character up to this point:

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, protege of Luke Skywalker, and eventual master of the knights of Ren. He is known as the “Jedi Killer” among the rank and file of the First Order. His helmet was crafted to mask his visage and voice, concealing his identity as he delves further into the power of the dark side of the Force.

Star Wars: the Last Jedi opens on December 15th, 2017

Source: CBM