#KyloRenChallenge goes viral

  • 02/01/2018
Actor Adam Driver caused a stir when he appeared shirtless as Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi.
Actor Adam Driver caused a stir when he appeared shirtless as Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi. Photo credit: Getty

A divisive scene from the latest Star Wars film has inspired a viral internet challenge.

The #KyloRenChallenge involves men donning high-waisted black pants in imitation of Adam Driver's character in The Last Jedi.

Kylo Ren, son of the galaxy's most famous rebel couple Han Solo and Leia Organa, is one of the main antagonists in the film released in December 2017. In a now-infamous scene, Ren wore very high-waisted black pants and no shirt while communicating telepathically with heroine Rey.

Ren's sudden lack of a shirt surprised viewers, and while the sight of the muscular Driver in his distinctive pants was appreciated by many, the scene quickly became a meme.

Now men around the world are copying the look under the hashtag #KyloRenChallenge, coined by musician John Mayer who posted a selfie to Instagram of himself wearing unusually high-waisted pants with no shirt.

Other people quickly followed suit, all wearing black pants of varying heights.

Some held plastic lightsabers to complete the look.

Others made do with household items instead.

The youngest entrant in the challenge was just three weeks old.

Some people posted photos of famous action heroes who wore similar outifts, such as Bruce Lee, Rambo and Captain Li Shang from Disney's Mulan.

The Last Jedi was one of the highest-grossing films of 2017, raking in $750m (US$533.1m) at the box office. However it failed to please some Star Wars fans, who set up an online petition to have the film scrubbed from the franchise's official canon.

Newshub.