One of the greatest unsolved mysteries to emerge from the Force Awakens is where did Rey come from? Who are her parents? Star Wars fans have produced a wide assortment of theories ranging from “she’s a Kenobe” to “she’s the Emperor’s granddaughter”. I’ve laid out the list of possibilities below, and attached some probabilities. The Last Jedi comes out tomorrow, and I won't see the movie until Tuesday. The only spoilers you'll see here are for Force Awakens. I'll be very disappointing if we don't get any resolution on the Rey origin story. The people who left her on Jakku are not necessarily her parents. There is also the possibility that she’s a clone.
1. Rey Born To Two Normal (non-force) Parents: 25%
If we go with the idea that the simplest solution is most likely right, then she’s probably just an orphan born to a commoner and her specific lineage is really not important to the story. Maybe she never knew about Luke’s school and has no part in any conflict. She could be a scavenger, had parents who worked for the Empire or Republic, or maybe had no affiliation at all. The simplest solution may also be the least compelling option cinematically.
2. The force got a common woman pregnant 20%
We’ve seen this happen before, and it’s a likely outcome for how Rey was born. The metichlorians committed another sexual assault on an innocent woman to create a “chosen one”. They showed a tendency in The Force Awakens to hit plot points from the previous movies, and this is a big one. It would make Rey a “chosen one”, almost like a deity. The immaculate conception theory almost seems too obvious and was the plot from critically unpopular prequel movie.
3. Luke’s Daughter: 10%
When I walked out of the theatre having just seen the movie, I was convinced that Rey was a Skywalker; based mostly on 1) her hug with Leia, 2) how Luke reacted to seeing her. It really felt like Luke had left Rey on Jakku after the destruction of his Jedi Academy before he went into hiding. There really seemed to be a connection between Leia and Rey.
At the end of Force Awakens when Leia learns of Luke’s location, why isn’t Leia the one who goes to meet him? She’s the one who desperately needs to talk to her brother about the rebellion, so sending this young girl doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, unless she’s family. Especially if Rey is Luke’s daughter, then it makes perfect sense why she would be the chosen emissary.
Where the Rey Skywalker theory starts to fall apart is after examining the timeline. According to Wookiepedia, Rey was left on left on Jakku with Unkar Plutt (the portions guy) roughly 17 years after the Battle of Endor, about 7 years before the fall of Luke’s Jedi academy. Luke was still recruiting and training young Jedi at the time that Rey was left on Jakku. Unless she is a clone of Luke. If whoever found his lightsabre also found his hand attached to it, it’s possible someone tried to have him cloned. That Maz lady had the lightsabre in Force Awakens, but we don’t yet know how it came to be in her possession.
Then there is the old man Lor San Tekka who had the map to Luke. He was a Jedi scholar without force powers and was reportedly very close with Luke Skywalker after the fall of the Empire. According to Wookiepedia, San Tekka moved to Jakku after the fall of Luke’s Jedi Academy. Rey had already been on the planet for several years under the protection of Unkar Plutt. San Tekka was not her guardian, but he may have gone there looking for her. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the old man who had the map to find Luke just happened to be on the same planet as Rey.
Problem is, JJ Abrams told us that we don’t see Rey’s parents are not in Force Awakens. This should probably eliminate this theory.
4. Rey Palpatine: 10%
It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why Luke would hide her on Jakku while he’s rebuilding the Jedi and could presumably use all the young force sensitive kids he can find. Moreover, why would Luke leave her with a Scavenger Gangster who is not a good dude?
I now find it highly unlikely that Rey is a Skywalker. I don’t think she was born into the light-side. If Wookiepedia is correct and she was left on Jakku years before Luke’s school was destroyed, then she is either a random orphan or came from dark side parents. My favourite theory is that she’s a blood relative of Emperor Palpatine, that she was born into the darkness and became a beacon of light.
If she was infact being abandoned on Jakku for the purpose of being “hidden”, then it’s more likely that she was being hidden from Luke than Snoke. Maybe her evil parents or guardians figured out how powerful she could potentially be, that she was good inside, and didn’t want her becoming a Jedi.
The fact that she was left on that planet with a Scavenger gangster might be the biggest clue of all that she did not come from noble birth. If you were just some “space nanny” who was trying to hide the Emperor’s surviving extended family from his enemies, then Unkar Plutt is probably the perfect choice of babysitter.
5. Rey Kenobe - 10%
There is a popular theory online that she is a blood relative of Obi Wan Kenobe. The evidence is not very strong, mostly centered around circumstantial evidence like her British accent, Obi Wan speaking in her force vision, how she dresses, and other parallels with things Obi Wan did.
6. Rey Snoke: 5%
There have been some theories popping up lately that Rey is a blood relative of Snoke. I do believe Rey came from the dark side, however it’s just as likely she came from Snoke as it is Palpatine. It’s even plausible that Snoke tried to have himself cloned. He’s not looking to be too healthy in the previews. The biggest problem with Snoke is that they’ve said Rey’s parents were not in Force Awakens.
7. Leia’s Daughter: 5%
It would make for an interesting story line if Rey and Kylo were brother and sister. Personally, I’m not a believer in this theory. The greatest evidence that Rey is Leia’s daughter is the hug. Han had just died and instead of going to console Chewy, Leia goes right to hug Rey. It’s plausible she could be Leia’s daughter but not Han’s. Rey is 10 years younger than Kylo and would have been a teenager when Kylo turned to the dark side and destroyed the Jedi Academy.
Where the Leia theory especially falls apart for me is her being left on Jakku. I can’t imagine any scenario where Leia would leave her female toddler daughter with a nasty dude like Unkar. Would any parent? I have trouble believing that any good parent would choose “The Blobfish” to look after their kid. Plus, Rey was abandoned prior to Kylo turning dark, so what need would Leia have to abandon her daughter
8. Some Other Light-side Force User From Extended Lore: 5%
9. Some Other Dark-side Force User From Extended Lore: 5%
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