Lucasfilm President Explains Why Daisy Ridley’s Rey is a Skywalker, Not a Kenobi
The Star Wars trilogy may have concluded, but it’s still a popular subject of debate. The biggest question fans had after watching The Force Awakens was whether or not Rey was related to Luke Skywalker. Speculation naturally ran rampant upon hearing this essential detail, and discussions continued even after The Last Jedi seemingly revealed the heroine’s true identity. But as it turns out, Episode IX retconned this detail by revealing that she is indeed the grandchild of Emperor Palpatine.
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Who Is Daisy Ridley’s Rey?
During the early days of The Force Awakens, there was a lot of debate amongst fans about who Rey’s parents were. An early batch of rumors hinted that Rey might be the daughter of Han and Leia. But that was later denied by J.J. Abrams. Some fans thought Rey would be Luke Skywalker’s daughter but Abrams denied this too, saying that his character wasn’t allowed to have a family. That only fueled further speculation and some rumors even claimed that Obi-Wan Kenobi returned from The Phantom Menace as a Force ghost to father a child with someone, presumably Rey herself! Of course, this proved to be false because Palpatine had indeed returned in spirit form and once again possessed an unsuspecting soul – and he was right about manipulating Anakin all along.
Related: Luke Skywalker depressed due to Darth Vader?
Daisy Ridley’s Rey is a Skywalker, Not a Kenobi
During a recent interview, Kathleen Kennedy (the President of Lucasfilm) explained the connection between Obi-Wan and Rey. He echoed that:
The bigger issue is talking about Obi-Wan as a Master Jedi, and the issue of attachment and selflessness. For Obi-Wan to have a child, you are really, really impacting the rules around the Jedi. What does that mean? If that were explored—and certainly there were a lot of ideas being thrown around—but anything to do with Obi-Wan in that regard was pretty much off the table because it flies in the face of everything George created in the mythology. We’re not rigid about it. It’s certainly open for discussion all the time. But that’s a pretty significant tenet in the mythology of the Jedi that we’d be reluctant to mess with.
The Force is meant to remain above all, serving only those who understand it best and use it for good. For the Jedi, there’s no room for attachment, a rule that Skywalker was in some way expected to break. But he chose instead to attach himself to things beyond the Force, like his own selfish desires which eventually destroyed him.
Related: Star Wars Fan Theory Argues That Luke Skywalker Died Before The Last Jedi
The series of events in the movie concerning Skywalker’s supposed parentage is largely attributed to the confusion and oversight that goes into most blockbuster sequels. This has led some fans to ask whether or not Lucasfilm will be able to avoid making this mistake again with the next Star Wars movie in development. It’s doubtful that we’ll see any dire scenarios like what happened to Rey in The Last Jedi.
