Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
The reveal that Rey ( Daisy Ridley ) is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine ( Ian McDiarmid ) was just one of many terrible option for herStar Warsparentage . The mystery behind Rey ’s biological parents was the core mystery story that was at the heart of theStar Warssequel trilogy . After a few flushed Clupea harangus , it was finally reveal inStar state of war : The wage increase of Skywalkerthat her unnamed parent left Rey on Jakku to hide the small fry from her grandfather ’s influence .
It was a reveal that felt like an abrupt course discipline from Rian Johnson ’s unfairly lambastedStar Wars : The Last Jedithat brought the trilogy back in short letter with the dealership ’s obsession with lineage and legacy . Along with the much - parodied " Somehow , Palpatine returned " line , the reveal andPalpatine ’s surprisal return were hatedby fans . wait at the alternative theory put forward by fans , however , reveals that each theory was deep blemished and only advance the issues with thefinal chapters of the Skywalker saga .
Why Rey Being A Palpatine Didn’t Work
Fundamentally , Rey being reveal as a descendent of Emperor Palpatine did n’t work because it was bad storytelling . Rey ’s stemma was a mystery , and all good mystery stories should introduce the defendant before providing the answer . decently up untilThe Rise of Skywalker , theStar Warsfranchise had never show Palpatine to be married or even be in a romantic human relationship . There were stories in theStar Warsextended creation that implied he may have fathered tiddler , but there was never evidence of this on - screen .
The novelization strain to square up this plot fix by explaining that Rey is the daughter ofa fail Palpatine clone , however , this only makes matters regretful . A good solution to a mystery should make narrative mother wit , and nothing in the precede film in the sequel trilogy set up this reveal . It ’s part of a much great yield with the last three chapters of the Skywalker Saga , that they find disconnected and lack a hard overarching narrative .
Why Rey Couldn’t Have Been A Solo
ab initio , the solid theory for Rey ’s ancestry was that she was the daughter of Han Solo ( Harrison Ford ) and Leia Organa ( Carrie Fisher ) . However , when it was revealed that Kylo Ren ( Adam Driver ) was in reality the Logos of Han and Leia , this made thing more complicated . Luke ( Mark Hamill ) and Leia were incognizant they were comrade and babe for the majority of the originalStar Warstrilogy , which take to some awkward momentsand misunderstandings .
While the idea of flippingLuke and Leia ’s storyso that Rey is the good similitude and Kylo Ren is the evil one is compelling enough , but it does n’t push theStar Warsfranchise in a particularly new or exciting steering . What ’s more , there ’s such obvious interpersonal chemistry between Rey and Ren that the sexual tensity between the two role would make such a reveal far more unenviable for them than it was for Luke and Leia . The reveal of Rey as a Palpatine flips the ending ofStar Warsdifferently , however , as a Skywalker descendent , Kylo Ren , once again sacrifices themselves to vote down the Emperor . Only this time it ’s to protect Rey , a Palpatine who will finally take on the Skywalker name , rather than protect her direct descendent .
Rey Being A Skywalker Would’ve Created Big Problems
Rey being the girl of Luke Skywalkerwould have created similar problem to the Palpatine reveal , namely that it would come from nowhere . Unlike Han and Leia , Luke does n’t stop the originalStar Warstrilogy paired up romantically . It would therefore have require a lot of exposition to explicate how Luke fathered a daughter and ultimately hid her on Jakku . There ’s already a fate of continuity and exposition to get through inThe Last Jediwhen Luke explains his tragical grounds for turning his back on the Force , so to throw in a mystery child would have weighed his backstory down even further . Given that the Jedi are n’t tolerate to marry , have children , or form emotional attachment it would have made Luke’sLast Jedistory far more complicated .
It would also further discover a glaring flaw in theStar Warsfranchise , that only one family can save the universe fromthe evil of the Empire . Rey being the daughter of a Sith Lord who follows the light side is ultimately more interesting than her being the girl of a legendary Jedi . Her want of connection to Luke also enhances his character electric discharge . If Rey was his daughter , it would lessen his difference to re - establish his connexion with the Force , doing it for his girl would be an indebtedness , doing it for a proportional alien is what heroes do . Rey is a Force - sensitive orphan , abandoned on a desert planet , she reminds him of the high-flown youth he used to be , and she reminds him of the need for the Jedi . It ’s a much more emotionally satisfying arc for Luke Skywalker than revealing a girl to whom he has a obligation of care .
Rey Being A Kenobi Was Considered (But It’s Good They Avoided It)
Back in 2020 , Daisy Ridley disclose onJimmy KimmelLivethat there were initial plan forRey to be a descendant of Obi - Wan Kenobi . If it had go out front , she would in all likelihood have been Obi - Wan ’s granddaughter , but this would have caused exchangeable problems as with both Luke and Palpatine . Given how concerned Kenobi ( Ewan McGregor ) is about the relationship between Anakin ( Hayden Christensen ) and Padme ( Natalie Portman ) , it would be unbelievably hypocritical if he too had been involve romantically with someone and had fathered a child . It ’s potential that Kenobi could have generate a tyke while in hiding from the Empire , however , the dates do n’t quite match up .
There are 19 years between the end of the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy , 19 old age in which Kenobi celebrate a insomniac eye on Luke , rescues Leia , and embarks on his walking through the desert withQui - Gon Jinn ’s Force ghost . contribute to this his solitudinarian lifestyle , and it does n’t allow much time or opportunity for him to father a youngster who would later become one of Rey ’s parent . While the Obi - Wan timeline has been more fully realized in the years afterThe Rise of Skywalker , it ’s likely that the possibility of a Ewan McGregor - led spinoff was what led Kathleen Kennedy to announce that Obi - Wan was off the tabular array as far as Rey ’s lineage was concerned .
Why Rey Being A Nobody Was The Best Choice
The good account of Rey ’s ancestry was the one provided by Kylo Ren inThe Last Jedi , that she was the daughter of nobody special . It fit perfectly with Rian Johnson ’s baronial effort to returnStar Warsback to its root . The constituent of Johnson ’s movie that was so controversial for fan was how itbroke withStar Wars’Jedi obsession , a move that was seen as disrespectful to the lore . However , having Rey as a personnel - sensitive orphan would have neatly brought the enfranchisement justly back to its roots inA New Hope . properly up until the reveal of Darth Vader ’s true identity inThe Empire Strikes Back , Luke Skywalker ’s actions are motivated by how he ’s been inspired by both the caption of the Jedi , and the important work of the Rebel Alliance . His blood line was never the aspect of his character that really delimitate him , and it should have been the same for Rey .
Luke Skywalker embarked on his Jedi grooming , not because his father was a fabled Jedi , but because he was raw to the Force . When the prequel trilogy put in the idea of Midi - chlorians , it turnedthe Jedi ’s Force powersinto a prerogative bestowed to a select few due to their bloodlines . Rey being a nobody with Force powers would have been the unadulterated room to relaunch thefranchise , breaking with the cumbersome Skywalker mythology . As an orphan on a desert world who becomes a large Jedi and help to bring down a fascist regime , Rey was already the perfect update of Luke Skywalker without get to also have a hereditary connection to a legacy character . With her Palpatine heritage , she will always be connect to the Skywalker Saga which could have cripple consequences for theStar Warsfranchise going onwards .
NEXT : Who Would ’ve Been Palpatine ’s Replacement For Darth Vader ( Before Luke ) ?
