New Star Wars Animated Short May Reveal Rey’s Past

With less than six months to go until the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, we’re getting a lot of hints about some of the movie’s most closely guarded secrets. Some of the more substantial buzz in the last few weeks has been about Rey’s parents and connection to the history of the franchise. Now, some fans are spotting clues in a Star Wars Kids video, which in distilling the Skywalker saga, might contain some deeper meaning.

Titled Jedi vs. Sith: The Skywalker Saga, the short video gives us a quick history lesson on the Skywalker family, beginning with the events around Anakin in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. We then jump ahead, via some nifty animated transitions, to teen and then shaggy-haired Anakin in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and his turn to the Dark Side of the Force.

The rest of the video deals with the events of the Original Trilogy, including the rise of Luke Skywalker and the eventual defeat of Emperor Palpatine. From there we see an older Luke and the training of Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which sets up an intriguing theory: why would Rey be included in a history of the Skywalkers if she wasn’t one herself?

The Rey as a Skywalker theory has been bouncing around for a long time, although the producers of the franchise have been cautious about giving away the character’s backstory. Indeed, it could still turn out that Rey has no ties to the wider Star Wars universe at all.

Personally, we’re not sure where to stand on her involvement in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as it seems that Daisy Ridley won’t be reprising the character in future sequels. If she is a Skywalker after all, then there could be some continuation, possibly involving Kylo Ren or another, as yet unseen character.

In any case, there’s not too long to wait until we get answers in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, even if the final explanation of Rey’s past might end up being a disappointment. Regardless of its implications, we definitely recommend you check out the Star Wars Kids video, as it provides a great, stylishly animated rundown of key moments in the franchise.