If you’re a fan, you’ll be aware by now that The Visual Dictionary for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is turning out to be a pretty essential item to own as it features a boatload of information not present in the movie, much of which helps to fill in various plot holes. Alternatively, some of its revelations simply help to better understand the world and timeline of the Sequel Trilogy. For instance, it’s easy to miss in the films themselves, but there’s actually a big age difference between Rey and her nemesis/love interest, Kylo Ren.
The tie-in book notes that Leia sent her son Ben off to train in the ways of the Jedi with her brother Luke at the tender age of 10. It also specifies that Rey was born this same year, establishing that there’s a decade between the two characters. No wonder Kylo was furious when he was bested by Rey in The Force Awakens – he’s literally been mastering the Force since before she could walk. Looks like those Palpatine genes are stronger with the Midichlorians than Skywalker blood, eh?
The Dictionary also elaborates that the events of Episode VII take place 19 years later, meaning Rey is not yet even 20 years old when her life takes an unexpected turn and she discovers her Force powers. Kylo, meanwhile, is 29 at this point. If you’re interested, this is also six years after he turned to the Dark Side and destroyed Luke’s Jedi temple (as seen in The Last Jedi). The events of Rise are set one year after the “Starkiller incident,” so the duo are 20 and 30 when we last see them. Specifically, Ben Solo is just 30 years old when he dies saving Rey’s life.
We should also note that the characters’ age gap is similar to, though slightly bigger than, the actors in real life. Daisy Ridley is currently 27 while Adam Driver is 36 and there’s about 8 years and 6 months between them. We could easily have worked this out, then, but it’s easy to miss this detail in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Rey and Kylo are so closely connected and depicted as two halves of the same coin.
