It’s almost impressive how much Disney managed to split the Star Wars fanbase down the middle across the Sequel Trilogy, with the mere mention of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker enough to generate a distinctly different reaction from anyone who holds a vested interest in the franchise.
One of the most polarizing aspects of an all-round polarizing trio of intergalactic epics was the characterization of Daisy Ridley’s Rey, and with good reason. Initially introduced as a nobody that was abandoned on the desolate planet of Jakku, it was refreshing to see a key Star Wars figure embed themselves into the mythology without having a direct connection to any legacy players. Or so we thought.
There was plenty of eye-rolling and just as much unbridled fury when Episode IX revealed that Rey was actually Darth Sidious’ granddaughter, which effectively boiled nine Star Wars films into a generational battle between the Palpatines and the Skywalkers, only serving to make the universe feel smaller when you can connect every major player in only a couple of dots.
The “Rey Skywalker” finale generated plenty of backlash, too, but it wasn’t exactly unanimous. In fact, Star Wars fans over on Reddit are even keen to see Ridley return to a galaxy far, far away one day in the future to continue her arc.
Given that the original trilogy landed in the late 1970s to early 1980s, the prequels arrived between 1999 and 2005, and the last three took up the back half of the 2010s, it definitely can’t be ruled out that Lucasfilm could end up returning to the well once more in 15 years or so, by which time the vitriol directed at Rey Skywalker may have subsided somewhat.
