Star Wars fans have been obsessed with uncovering the truth about Rey’s parentage since 2015’s The Force Awakens. So much so that Kylo Ren’s revelation about her folks being nobodies from Jakku in The Last Jedi hasn’t swayed the torrent of fan theories out there connecting Daisy Ridley’s heroine to various characters, usually the Skywalkers or the Solos.
The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer threw another potential relative of Rey’s into the ring, though. The cackle of Emperor Palpatine confirmed that Ian McDiarmid will return as the uber-villain in Episode IX, which opens all sorts of doors about how he could fit into the closer to the Skywalker saga.
Now, The Express has shared one bold theory that suggests that Palpatine is responsible for Rey’s birth. You see, Darth Vader #25Â confirmed a major fact that fans have been wondering about since the Prequel Trilogy: that Darth Sidious created Anakin Skywalker inside his mother Shmi by manipulating the midichlorians. Just as he later told Anakin Darth Plagueis could do to create life in Revenge of the Sith.Â
So, assuming that Palpatine survived his death in the Death Star in Return of the Jedi, what if he pulled off this trick a second time and gave life to Rey? After all, his first Chosen One turned out to betray him, so perhaps he’d engineer a new powerful Force user in order to achieve his goals once again. In fact, Rey could be the latest Jedi destined to bring balance to the Force, as the old prophecy says.
This explanation would go someway to appeasing fans who want Rey to have a relation to some established character, as well as not outright discrediting the TLJ reveal about her parents. Director Rian Johnson says he doesn’t mind if J.J. Abrams ignores his plot developments, but some viewers might take umbrage with such a blatant retcon. Then again, Star Wars has been doing that since the Original Trilogy.
