Spoilers ahead, but we’ve got a theory about Rey’s true identity in Star Wars: The Force Awakens ….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
So Star Wars: The Force Awakens has officially been in theaters for three days now and after watching the movie three times, it’s time to lay down some serious theories about the film and the origin of one of the new key characters in the series — Rey.
Needless to say MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT. If you haven’t seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens either don’t keep reading or realize there are a ton of spoilers about the movie ahead.
LAST CHANCE, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK NOW.
There’s not much revealed about her during the movie although there are hints about her family blood line and the fact that she’s strong with the Force despite having no previous contact with anybody who has wielded the power before.
Obviously, Rey is being set up as the new key figure in this current Star Wars universe, but who is she exactly and more importantly who are her parents?
We have a couple of theories about that based on a few clues laced throughout the movie so let’s talk about Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
— Rey lives on a remote desert planet called Jakku where she was left as a child by her real parents. Jakku looks a lot like Tattooine, the same planet where Luke Skywalker lived until he was a teenager and met Obi-Wan Kenobi.
— When we first land on Jakku, we meet Lor San Tekka — played by Max Von Sydow — and he has a map to help the Resistance find out where Luke Skywalker has hidden. It appears that Tekka has some kind of connection to Luke after he began training new Jedi following the events in Return of the Jedi. Kylo Ren tells Tekka he’s gotten old since the last time they saw each other, which means he knew him from the time he was training under Luke before being seduced by the dark side.
Is it possible Tekka is on Jakku by accident? Or did Luke trust Tekka enough to send him to the planet to look after Rey as a child just as Obi-Wan did after Luke was sent to Tattooine to live with his aunt and uncle? The latter seems much more likely.
— Rey is a scavenger on Jakku and just before she meets BB-8 for the first time she puts on a helmet belonging to a Rebel pilot — the same helmet worn by Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. Now we know she finds items and sells them for money but is it possible this was one thing that was either left behind with her or possibly she felt a connection to and couldn’t let go?
— When Rey finally meets Han Solo, he clearly knows more about this girl than he’s letting on once he realizes she’s from Jakku. He’s shocked at first because of where the Millennium Falcon was found but it seems like he realizes while dealing with Rey that this might be someone more familiar to him.
— During Rey’s ‘spirit journey’ (for lack of a better word) when she touches the lightsaber that once belonged to Luke as well as Anakin Skywalker, she sees visions taking her back to Jakku as a child — seemingly as a six or seven-year old girl — and that time line would seem to fit with how long it’s been since Kylo Ren turned to Luke and destroyed the Jedi training center.
— Rey also sees Kylo Ren and his Knights of Ren after their slaughter of the Jedi Academy — something she may have witnessed as a child before being taken away and left on Jakku to protect her identity.
— Just before Rey finishes the vision quest, she hears voices of both Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Maz Kanata says that the lightsaber calls to her just like Luke and his father Anakin before him, all but confirming that she is part of the Skywalker lineage.
— Following Rey’s capture by Kylo Ren, he’s attempting to dig into her head to find the map to Luke and he mentions that he sees an island and all the water — which perfectly describes the eventual landing spot where Luke is actually found. Kylo also knows a lot more about Rey than he’s letting on but he seems almost threatened by her arrival. Maybe because she had more power than him when they were children and he got jealous?
— Kylo’s mind tricks also turn against him because Rey eventually reads his mind and says that he’s afraid. Maybe he’s afraid that his superior in the Force has just ‘awakened’ and he’s no longer the bad ass he thought he was in the universe?
— Kylo’s boss and trainer Supreme Leader Snoke also realizes this when he hears about Rey and it’s clear he’s interested to find out more about the girl.
All these signs point to one thing and one thing only —
— Rey is Luke Skywalker’s daughter left behind on Jakku to protect her identity from Snoke and the Knights of Ren, who would give anything to possess the girl who might have the most powerful connection to the Force of anyone in the galaxy. There’s also a better than average chance that Rey isn’t even her real name, just one given to her in the process of protecting her identity from the First Order.
Obviously we’ll find out more about Rey’s true identity when Star Wars: Episode VIII is released in a couple of years, but this is the strongest theory I’ve come up with yet. Your thoughts on Rey’s real identity and parentage? Leave them in the comments below!
