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Rian Johnson rewrote a memorable scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (aka Star Wars: Not Even Close To The Last One) to add an element suggested by Domnhall Gleeson, who plays General Hux. (Spoilers ahead.)
Hux spent most of his scenes in Last Jedi getting kicked around. First there was Poe Dameron’s crack in the opening scenes about needing to speak to General Hux to deliver an urgent message “about his mother.” If you know about Armitage Hux’s childhood, this is an even bigger dig than most audience members realized. Then Snoke force-dragged Hux across the floor, and later Hux was both force-choked and force-thrown into a wall by Kylo Ren in two separate scenes.
But before Kylo regained consciousness in Snoke’s throne room and force-choked Hux, the General nearly murdered the unconscious Kylo with a blaster. That’s the moment Johnson added after speaking with Gleeson about the character. Gleeson spoke to IMDb about his request to Johnson to add something to show Hux’s murderous side:
“General Hux is like a kicked dog for the whole movie, he just keeps on getting thrown into stuff and bullied, and I was like, ‘I wouldn’t like people to forget that he’s also a really nasty piece of work and could have an effect on the way things move forward.’ “
Gleeson has referenced Hux’s potentially violent competitive streak in interviews before, and a character like Hux doesn’t rise to the top at such a young age without slitting a few throats. In fact, the in-canon novel Phasma by Delilah Dawson revealed that General Hux arranged his own father’s assassination to get one more competitor out of his way. Somebody who would kill his own father for a quicker path to the top likely wouldn’t hesitate to kill Kylo if he sees an opportunity.
We’ll see how his character’s arc goes when Episode IX opens December 20th, 2019. If nothing else, it should be a surprisingly realistic depiction of most authoritarians: being in a position of terrifying power while also being a whiny manbaby.
In #StarWars, some people don't think the character of General Hux is believable because he's both a terrifying authoritarian in command of a massive military machine AND a petulant insecure buffoon. I think he's one of the most realistic characters ever.
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) January 12, 2018
(Via IMDb)