Star Wars: Episode IX Theory Teases Unexpected Origins For Rey

When Star Wars: The Last Jedi dropped the subversively anticlimactic twist that Rey’s parents were a pair of lowlife nobodies, not only did the Rian Johnson-helmed film diverge from the franchise’s tradition of epic, Force-infused lineages, but also went against The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams’ intentions to give the heroine a more relevant set of ancestors. But with Abrams back at the helm for Star Wars: Episode IX, many are speculating that the director will retcon the reveal from The Last Jedi to suggest that Rey actually did have a pair of pretty important parents.

That being said, you have to wonder if Abrams would really have the nerve to undo one of the bigger twists from last year’s release. Besides, if Rey’s parents really were nothing more than a pair of filthy junk traders, that still leaves the possibility that the character’s own past isn’t quite as humble as we’ve been led to believe.

This brings us on to this new Reddit theory, which argues that Rey’s seeming natural way with the Force is actually the result of extensive training – just not any training that she consciously remembers.

“Rey was trained with the other students at Luke’s jedi academy. When Ben Solo burned down the school, Rey was the only survivor. Fearing she would betray him too, Luke erased her memory with the force and left her on Jakku in the middle of nowhere, but he left her memory of her training since he would need a powerful force wielder if he ever changed his mind. Since he still wanted the Jedi to end, he pretended not to know her when she found him on Ahch-To. If he had had time, he would have told her when he projected to Crait. In Episode IX, Luke will come back as a force ghost and tell her.”

You could certainly make the case that the idea of Rey’s skills being previously instilled in her by the franchise’s most famous Jedi cheapens The Last Jedi’s last-minute tease that the galaxy is full of naturally Force-sensitive individuals who’ve had no formal training. Still, if Rey took to the Force a little too quickly for your liking, then as it stands, there’s nothing stopping you from subscribing to this theory as a neat little explanation of the heroine’s roots.

We’ll see if Force Ghost Luke has anything to say on the matter when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.