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With rampant buzz about Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) due out this Christmas comes unwavering interest in uncovering details about the installment’s new villains. So far, little has been said about the film’s antagonists, leaving fans curious about their stories, their motivations, and their positions within the new evil empire. Star Wars antagonists are as legendary as its heroes, and The Force Awakens appears to be ushering in two new primary foes: General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), the military leader of Force’s First Order (the remaining remnant of the Imperial army), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), an enforcer for the First Order who appears to have a raging obsession with continuing the legacy of Darth Vader.

Details about Hux reveal him as contemptuous and arrogant, having made his way to the top of the First Order’s chain of command though a Mafioso “kill your way to the top” mentality. Speaking in regards to the character’s demeanor, Gleeson said, “There’s an air of superiority, and being better than those people around you. He’s pretty ruthless. A strong disciplinarian would be a mild way of putting it.” Gleeson continues by adding that Hux is motivated solely by power, and the constant acquisition of more. It amounts to the film’s villains trying to out-evil their predecessors, and doing anything necessary to confirm they are the greatest evildoers who ever lived.

Additionally, “The fear of individuality [drives him]. People who are messed up themselves often want to squash the individuality out of other people because they’re afraid of what it means.”

Unlike major Star Wars villains of the past, Hux carries no signature weapon. His dirty work is done largely through delegation, commanding others to carry out his commands. That being the case, one may be drawn to the assumption that Hux and Kylo Ren are some type of evil tag-team with aligned vision. Gleeson denies this, telling Entertainment Weekly, “He’s kind of opposite Kylo Ren. They have their own relationship, which is individual and unusual. One of them is strong in different ways than the other. They’re both vying for power.”

Does that mean Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is more of a fanatical maniac than a calculated member of the Order? What it definitely says is that within the classic Star Wars battle of good vs. evil we will see in the film, we’re likely to witness some internal conflict as an “evil vs. evil” battle of superiority emerges between the film’s foes.

With personal ambition and overwhelming power as Hux’s driving force, the fact he’s in command of Starkiller Base, an entire ice planet converted into a military stronghold featuring a weapon capable of destroying entire solar systems, is bound to make for an intimidating menace.