7 Intriguing Theories About Rey’s Identity In Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Before Star Wars: The Force Awakens released, fans were full of questions: Where is Luke? Who is Kylo Ren? Why is that Stormtrooper a good guy? Thankfully, after seeing the movie we now know the answer to all those questions - but a bunch of others have taken their place. Is Ren now irredeemable? What is the true identity of Supreme Leader Snoke? And, the question we'll be focusing on today: just who is Rey? As brilliantly played by Daisy Ridley, Rey was the beating heart of the film - a modern-day Luke Skywalker and a new female hero in a world where blockbusters still don't have enough of those. It's a testament to how great the character is that streams of people have been flocking to the internet to theorize about who she really is. The film didn't give us much to work with and what it did was conflicting - we know she is a natural pilot like Han, but then she had an X-Wing helmet like Luke's - so fans have come up with ideas that vary wildly, in both detail and plausibility, about who Rey was before she was abandoned on Jakku. Join us, then, as we take a look at seven of the most intriguing theories regarding Rey's identity. 7) She's A Skywalker Let's get probably the most accepted fan theory out of the way first. Yes, due to how strong Rey's Force powers are without her having any training (that we know of), it is thought that she is none other than Luke's daughter. One theory states that a clue is hidden in her name; in the unlikely form of rhyme. Just like Kylo Ren sounds close to his true identity of Ben Solo, some fans think that Rey's real name is Padme - named by Luke after his mother. After all, there is a passing resemblance between Ridley and Natalie Portman. This theory gained credence for some when a clip from Disney Infinity's Force Awakens playset seemed to feature Kylo saying to Rey "Face me, Cousin!" which, assuming Leia doesn't have any other siblings, would make her Luke's child. However, what he actually says is "curses." Still, while this piece of evidence might not hold up, that doesn't mean the whole theory is kaput. It does seem a lot more likely than many of the following ideas. 6) She Is Han And Leia's Daughter On the other hand, is it really likely that she is Luke's? By the sounds of it, Luke committed himself to the ways of the Jedi after Episode VI and so he probably wouldn't have had time for romance. Instead, what if Rey is another Solo? The crux of this theory goes that, well, if she ain't Luke's then she's got to get her Force-sensitivity from somewhere and seeing as Luke and Leia are the only Force users around before this film, then she has to be related to Leia. Some people see a maternal element to when Leia and Rey hug after Han's death at the end of the film. This is strengthened by the fact that Leia passes by Chewbacca - Han's biggest BFF in the whole galaxy - to console Rey instead. Perhaps Kylo and Rey are siblings not cousins and Leia had twins, just like her mother? One good twin and one evil twin battling it out for the sake of the galaxy - it does have a fittingly grandiose ring to it. 5) She Is Obi-Wan's Granddaughter Then again, there is another character at one with the Force that Rey could be related to. He might not be around anymore, but some have theorized that Rey is actually the grandchild of Obi-Wan Kenobi. After all, he had to do something in all those years he was on Tatooine. Just like there are parallels between Rey and Luke/Han, there are characteristics that she shares with Kenobi - chiefly, they are both loners who lived on a desert planet. This theory does have an extra obstacle in that you would have to account for the never-before-seen other Kenobi who would be Rey's parent but, don't worry, they've got this covered, too. As Benicio Del Toro has been confirmed for Episode VIII in an unclassified role, it could be that he is playing Obi-Wan Jr. (or whatever his name is), Rey's dad. Of course, the largest chunk of evidence for this theory is how Rey hears Obi-Wan's voice when she touches Luke's lightsaber (in an easily-missed cameo from Ewan McGregor). A lightsaber which, by the way, was also in Kenobi's hands for two decades, which would explain Rey's affinity to it. That said, she also hears Yoda's voice when she touches the saber... So, Rey is the love child of Obi-Wan and Yoda - a new theory is born! 4) She Is A Former Student Of Luke's But who says she has to actually be a blood relative of one of the characters and not just have a shared history with them in some way? One less galaxy-shattering theory suggests that Rey was once one of Luke's students at his Jedi academy. Hence why she shows signs of having had training in using the Force. In the previously mentioned scene where Rey finds Luke's lightsaber, Rey has a vision of a young girl witnessing a slaughter courtesy of Kylo Ren at what we can take to be Luke's school. This is thought to be Rey herself - she escaped Ren's massacre of the other students and was put on Jakku - either having had her memory wiped or just deciding not to talk about any of this during the movie. Another part to this theory is that Max Von Sydow's character, Lor San Tekka, was a figure at the academy who also took refuge on Jakku to watch over Rey, without ever contacting her so as to not give away her position. 3) She Is The Child Of Supreme Leader Snoke Some have theoriszd that the mystery of Rey's identity is made from the same logic as the twist that the saga's new major villain, Kylo Ren, is the son of the galaxy's great heroes, Han and Leia. Given that, wouldn't it make sense for the new saviour on the scene to be the sprog of the latest Emperor of all that is evil? Don't answer that. Evidence to suggest this theory is obviously on the slim side as the reasoning behind it basically boils down to "we'd never see it coming!" For instance, these theorists think that the mystery is all building up to a near perfect recreation of the famed "I am your father" line - the villain once again saying it to the hero. You have to admit it would be as big a shock as it was in The Empire Strikes Back. It is also thought by the theory's subscribers that this would explain Snoke's obsession with stopping Luke - he believes that the Jedi would harm his daughter. To him, Luke is the bad guy. Boy, whoever came up with this theory must have been totally... snoked. 2) She Is The Reincarnation Of Anakin That's enough of this talk of Rey just being somebody's daughter, we've been thinking too small. This next fan theory goes the whole hog and states that she's not just Darth Vader's granddaughter - she is Vader himself. This one comes from the extent of Rey's Force-sensitivity, which far outshines anyone else's we've yet seen in the saga - she's been in the game five minutes and already she is able to mind trick Daniel Craig's stormtrooper (yep, it was him) and beat the trained Kylo Ren in a fight. This would also explain why she gets those hallucinations when she touches the lightsaber that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker. After all, the prequels (sorry about this, we'll stop talking about them in a minute) stated that Anakin was the Chosen One, prophesied to bring balance to the Force. Seeing as that didn't work out too well, the Force might well have tried again - reincarnating Anakin in this second dark time for the galaxy. See, it all makes perfect sense. Sort of. 1) She Is An Ordinary Person Now we come to the most mind-blowing theory of them all. Forget being the daughter of her or the reincarnation of him, let's for a second entertain the wild idea that Rey is actually... just an average person and not connected to any other characters. Whoah, I know, it's a lot to take in. This theory stems from the hope of some fans that the saga is exploring less of a typical Chosen One story arc, as in the prequels (sorry, mentioned them again), and instead going down a more meritocratic route - that anyone can be as powerful as Luke or Anakin. It just depends on how many Midi-chlorians they have (last time, I promise). This could even tie in to the 'She's Luke's Student' theory, so it still explains why she seems to have some training in the Force. What if this trilogy isn't just a continuation of the story of the characters we know from the old films but instead a new start - the story of how the Force awakened in a person completely new to the saga? Nah, it's too far-fetched.