Ever since the multi-talented Rey first dropped into the Star Wars universe back in 2015’s The Force Awakens, fans have been theorizing about just who her parents could be. I mean, obviously she had to be related to some sort of established character, right? Is she really Luke’s daughter? Obi-Wan Kenobi’s? Kylo Ren’s secret twin?
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we finally get our answer – and it comes as quite a shock. In a climactic moment of the movie, Kylo Ren reveals that Rey’s parents were… no one important at all. Just some lowlifes on Jakku who sold their daughter in exchange for money to fuel their various vices. Kylo uses the info as a tool to break Rey’s spirit, in hopes of getting her to come to the Dark Side. Rey proves stronger than him though and stands her ground.
Still, it’s got fans wondering what they’re to think of the revelation. For instance, is Ren just making this up to tempt Rey? Director Rian Johnson has spoken on the topic numerous times now, saying that Kylo believes that what he’s telling her is true, but it seems that there may still be hope for those who think the villain could be lying.
Speaking with The Huffington Post in a recent interview, Johnson said that since he’s not penning the script for Episode IX, “anything’s still open” in regards to where Rey comes from.
“Anything’s still open, and I’m not writing the next film. [J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio] are doing it. With all of these movies, Obi-Wan’s whole speech about a certain point of view always applies, so I think that you have to always think about the context of how information is given. But for me, dramatically, that’s why that reveal at that moment made sense.”
As with most of his previous comments, the director is playing things a bit coy here, leading us to believe that Abrams might indeed make some changes to Rey’s parentage. Or at least, give us some kind of twist that allows him to mess around with her origins so that they’re not exactly as Kylo told her.
Then again, who really knows? Rey might truly be no one special and just another ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances like so many protagonists before her. And if that’s the case, would that really be so terrible? We certainly don’t think so, but either way, all will be revealed when Star Wars: Episode IX blasts into theaters on December 20th, 2019.
