Rey's origins ('The Force Awakens' spoilers)

[Sidewinder]

Having watched 'The Force Awakens', I wonder about Rey's PAST relationship with Luke Skywalker. Was she a young Padawan who left on Jakku, while older apprentices tried to draw their pursuers (the Knights of Ren and their leader, Kylo) away from her? A natural daughter, with a dead mother, and a father (Luke Skywalker) who chose to abandon her because... reasons? Or something else?

I thought about the possibility Rey is a female clone of Luke Skywalker, their relationship comparable to X-23 (Laura Kinney) and Wolverine- it made sense, considering Disney owns both Lucasarts and Marvel Comics. The planet she was found on, Jakku, was also an Imperial weapons facility, according to The Visual Dictionary- it's possible Jakku was also an R & D facility for these weapons.

When I discussed the possibility with the clerk at a comic book store, he said he believed the Force itself created Rey, the way Anakin Skywalker was created- that she was to bring "balance to the Force."

Of course, it's possible Rey had NO RELATIONSHIP with Skywalker until she met him at the end of the movie. What do you think is most likely?

[The Romulan Republic]

It seemed to me that the film was very heavily implying that she is Luke's daughter with the conversation with Maz and her connection to Luke's lightsaber- so much so that I might have trouble buying anything else, though the fact that they didn't just come out and say it makes me think they have some lame attempt at a "twist" coming.

[Gandalf]

I just assumed that she's some person who fate was to meet Luke and help him re-balance the Force.

No need for them to be related.

[Khaat]

My vote is "no relation to that family at all please!"

No offense, it makes it all personal and all, but I'm kinda done hearing about the Skywalkers. It's a big galaxy, with a long long history of force-sensitive species. After the Jedi purge (RotS, 20 ABY?), the galaxy should be swimming in force-sensitives without the tradition of the Jedi to guide and/or restrict them.

The Knights of Ren (as mentioned, TFA) are possibly one such group, Kylo being the strongest (or most angsty/figurehead-y) of them. It would make sense that once Luke sensed trouble on its way, he would secrete a few of his better younglings around where they could grow under obscurity, relative hardship (training), and discipline. Dangerous, though, since that's also emotionally isolated, like Anakin was.

If the Force wants balance, it should stop working.

If they want to go "clone of...", it should be Anakin. (Or since the accent makes no sense, Obi-Wan!)

[The Romulan Republic]

I just assumed that she's some person who fate was to meet Luke and help him re-balance the Force.

No need for them to be related.

No need for them to be except perhaps that they heavily implied it in the film.

But they're following the OT a lot, and Star Wars (the films at least) have always been built around the Skywalker family.

Yes, its predictable, but what can you do?

[hunter5]

The latest theory I have heard but doesn't really make sense is that Rey is the reincarnation of Anakin. My main problem with that theory is Rey's age

[Mad]

Most likely? Luke's daughter. They imply it pretty strongly. In particular, the implication that the lightsaber has been handed down through a particular lineage and is now rightfully hers. (Yes, there's wiggle room and I'm reading a little into it. It felt more like they were trying to imply it without saying it outright, though.)

Too strongly? Maybe it's a misdirect? They also left open other possibilities, too. To keep us guessing or to keep their own options open?

I do like the Luke's clone angle. It's just whimsical enough to possibly work. And it allows TFA to answer the question "Who is Luke Skywalker?" without having the Luke we know be in movie (effectively): the clone would also be the essence of Luke. I just don't think it's the most likely option.

[biostem]

I just hope they don't go with the "use the force to create life" angle, which is implied to be Anakin's origin...

[LadyTevar]

I don't want her to be a Skywalker, a Solo, or any blood relation to them whatsoever. If that means she's a "ForceBorn" like Anakin was implied to be, well, I hope they got it RIGHT this time.

[Mad]

I just hope they don't go with the "use the force to create life" angle, which is implied to be Anakin's origin...

They seem to be deliberately avoiding things that people didn't like about the prequels, so I don't think they'll go there. There's no need, either.

[Solauren]

She's Luke's daughter, but one he thought was dead.

Thinking:
Luke gets a girlfriend/lover/wife. We'll call her Mara.

She was born shortly Ben Solo was. A few years before he was turned by the Knights of Ren.

During an attack on the Jedi, Mara took Rey, and took of with her to hide her, and meet up with the Falcon. One mind trick to Han later, it's "stolen" and therefore hard to trace if something happens to Han. Drop Rey off on Jakku to hide her, and go try to meet back up with the Jedi/Luke. She trades the Falcon to someone for passage (and to hide her tracks).

Falcon ends up staying on Jakku, and Mara ends up killed. Luke goes into hiding to morn.

The Force decides that's not acceptable, and we get 'The Force Awakens'.

[Batman]

I don't want her to be a Skywalker, a Solo, or any blood relation to them whatsoever. If that means she's a "ForceBorn" like Anakin was implied to be, well, I hope they got it RIGHT this time.

Depends on how you want to look at it. Yes, the Star Wars universe is certainly a lot bigger than just the Skywalkers and associated riffraff...but the movies and especially the OT are clearly about them. And since they seem to be bringing Luke back into the narrative (though wouldn't it be a hoot if the next movie opened with him refusing the sabre and saying 'Get lost, I'm done with this shit') I think they're sticking with that.

[Sidewinder]

She's Luke's daughter, but one he thought was dead.

Thinking:
Luke gets a girlfriend/lover/wife. We'll call her Mara.

She was born shortly Ben Solo was. A few years before he was turned by the Knights of Ren.

During an attack on the Jedi, Mara took Rey, and took of with her to hide her, and meet up with the Falcon. One mind trick to Han later, it's "stolen" and therefore hard to trace if something happens to Han. Drop Rey off on Jakku to hide her, and go try to meet back up with the Jedi/Luke. She trades the Falcon to someone for passage (and to hide her tracks).

Falcon ends up staying on Jakku, and Mara ends up killed. Luke goes into hiding to morn.

The Force decides that's not acceptable, and we get 'The Force Awakens'.

Makes sense. Abandoning his own child is an act that would kill any sympathy a SANE audience would have for Luke, as well as any confidence they have in Luke's moral code- and consequently, that of a Jedi Order he founds.

[biostem]

She's Luke's daughter, but one he thought was dead.

Thinking:
Luke gets a girlfriend/lover/wife. We'll call her Mara.

She was born shortly Ben Solo was. A few years before he was turned by the Knights of Ren.

During an attack on the Jedi, Mara took Rey, and took of with her to hide her, and meet up with the Falcon. One mind trick to Han later, it's "stolen" and therefore hard to trace if something happens to Han. Drop Rey off on Jakku to hide her, and go try to meet back up with the Jedi/Luke. She trades the Falcon to someone for passage (and to hide her tracks).

Falcon ends up staying on Jakku, and Mara ends up killed. Luke goes into hiding to morn.

The Force decides that's not acceptable, and we get 'The Force Awakens'.

Makes sense. Abandoning his own child is an act that would kill any sympathy a SANE audience would have for Luke, as well as any confidence they have in Luke's moral code- and consequently, that of a Jedi Order he founds.

It also makes sense - there is very little that I could imagine would drive Luke to isolate himself from Leia, Han, and the others... not even a renegade student.

A daughter that he believed was killed by said student, OTOH...

[Gandalf]

That then raises the question of why a sane guardian would leave Rey on Jakku if she's indeed the next Skywalker.

[biostem]

That then raises the question of why a sane guardian would leave Rey on Jakku if she's indeed the next Skywalker.

Perhaps there was little choice? Knights of Ren on your tail - maybe they would use your daughter t get at you - so you give her a fighting chance by leaving her on some backwater planet. Perhaps her mind was clouded to hide her from detection, and either the mother is still out there somewhere, or sacrificed herself to present the appearance of both having died, (seems plausible as even Luke was unaware).

[Vympel]

Noting that Kathleen Kennedy rightly noted that the Star Wars saga (as in, Episodes 1 - 9) is the story of the Skywalker family 'soap opera' more than anything else, it would be bizarre if the protagonist of Episodes 7-9 isn't a Skywalker. How else is an attempt to redeem Kylo Ren going to convincingly be made, other than through family?

[Sidewinder]

How else is an attempt to redeem Kylo Ren going to convincingly be made, other than through family?

A religious fanatic with delusions of talent will say, "Through religion," with the Force substituting for whatever god he/she worships.

Hopefully, Disney will keep such religious fanatics FAR, FAR AWAY from the production of Episodes VIII and IX.

[Adam Reynolds]

One odd theory that has apparently come out lately is that Rey is a Kenobi rather than a Skwalker. The idea seems to be that she is Obi-Wan's granddaughter. Their evidence is largely based on the vision in which Obi-Wan calls out to her through the Force. They seem to believe that when Obi-Wan was living as a hermit, he had time to father children as he wasn't a Jedi at the time(nevermind that he always believed in the ideas of the Jedi).

Though somehow I doubt it. I am going with Luke's daughter. Given the fact that she clearly had a vision of the island Luke was hiding on, as well as R2 apparently reacting to her presence when he was supposedly waiting for Luke, to me there is little question that she is a Skywalker.

I would also second the idea that Rey's mother dumped her on Jakku. Though I suspect the presence of the Falcon is just a coincidence(or the Force, whichever you prefer). Kylo Ren also seems to have had an idea she was there. When he hears about a scavenger being present, he seems to have a sense of recognition. I suspect he let Rey's mother dump her there and then killed her.

I don't want her to be a Skywalker, a Solo, or any blood relation to them whatsoever. If that means she's a "ForceBorn" like Anakin was implied to be, well, I hope they got it RIGHT this time.

Why does that bother you? I get the problem of the Star Wars galaxy revolving around a single family, but that is really the point of the series. It is a family drama told with a massive backdrop.

[The Romulan Republic]

She's Luke's daughter, but one he thought was dead.

Thinking:
Luke gets a girlfriend/lover/wife. We'll call her Mara.

She was born shortly Ben Solo was. A few years before he was turned by the Knights of Ren.

During an attack on the Jedi, Mara took Rey, and took of with her to hide her, and meet up with the Falcon. One mind trick to Han later, it's "stolen" and therefore hard to trace if something happens to Han. Drop Rey off on Jakku to hide her, and go try to meet back up with the Jedi/Luke. She trades the Falcon to someone for passage (and to hide her tracks).

Falcon ends up staying on Jakku, and Mara ends up killed. Luke goes into hiding to morn.

The Force decides that's not acceptable, and we get 'The Force Awakens'.

Some of this would work, but I have a major objection: If Mara is introduced to the new continuity, she deserves more than to be killed off-screen and barely mentioned. Hell, anyone who's the mother of Rey and Luke's love interest is a significant enough character to warrant more than that, arguably.

But it would fit with some of what Maz said as I recall, if who abandoned Rey is different from Luke.

[NeoGoomba]

Maybe "Mara" hid Rey on Jakku with the intention of returning after stopping Ben/Kylo, but she got taken down by the Knights of Ren before she told anyone where Rey was?

Or maybe "Mara" is a prisoner somewhere held by Snoke, who refuses to crack to reveal any family information?

What I'd like to know is who Rey was left with on Jakku? In the flashback she was holding someone's hand while she cried. Whoever that person is is a huge omission, plot-wise, that needs to be addressed since her identity is going to become a plot point in the series.

[Khaat]

What I'd like to know is who Rey was left with on Jakku? In the flashback she was holding someone's hand while she cried. Whoever that person is is a huge omission, plot-wise, that needs to be addressed since her identity is going to become a plot point in the series.

I was watching for that specifically the second time I saw it: it looks like it was the junk dealer (Unkar Plutt/Simon Pegg). For her security and his own, he could have pushed her off to the wrecks, taught her a little tech, then set her up as one of his scavengers. He raised the prices when she got good enough to need the challenge. Had her work on the Falcon because... well, it's the Falcon!

Was Plutt training Rey, or just neglecting her?

So did he want BB8 because the First Order wanted BB8, or because he wanted to hide BB8 from the First Order? More "tests"? His scav-camp got blown all to hell (thanks uncle Owen, aunt Beru!) in Rey's escape with the droid with the files to ... yeah.
In RotJ, Luke displayed some long-range plan/foresight Force skill: could the "Rey/Plutt/Falcon/Jakku contingency" have been set up specifically because he foresaw the Kylo Ren thing happening?

[Channel72]

One odd theory that has apparently come out lately is that Rey is a Kenobi rather than a Skwalker. The idea seems to be that she is Obi-Wan's granddaughter. Their evidence is largely based on the vision in which Obi-Wan calls out to her through the Force. They seem to believe that when Obi-Wan was living as a hermit, he had time to father children as he wasn't a Jedi at the time(nevermind that he always believed in the ideas of the Jedi).

Well, since they apparently actually went through the trouble of actually hiring Ewan McGregor just to do that voiceover, it seems they have some sort of plan involving Kenobi. Otherwise they just threw it in to keep possibilities open and mislead the audience. Realistically, it's possible that even Disney doesn't know at this point where Rey comes from, or they have multiple possible ideas that they're currently weighing. I mean, Ep 8 has a different writer and all, and it's not clear to what extent he'll be obligated to incorporate whatever ideas JJ/Kasdan had about Rey's origin. I mean, when Ep IV was written Lucas didn't even have the Luke/Vader father-son relationship in mind. (Granted, Ep IV is different since there wasn't a guaranteed line up of 1,000 sequels down the line.)

[Galvatron]

I think we should get an Obi-Wan spinoff starring Ewan McGregor that reveals he had an adventure not long after ROTS during which he met a woman who made him disregard the obsolete rules of the Jedi order. They had a whirlwind romance and conceived a daughter who was very powerful in the Force.

We find out later, however, that Obi-Wan's lover was actually a powerful Imperial inquisitor who was ordered by Vader to find and capture his former master. Like any good minion of the Sith, she betrayed Obi-Wan who, of course, narrowly escaped and made his way back to Tatooine to continue living a life of seclusion, completely unaware that he had any offspring.

Obi-Wan's daughter went on to become one of the Emperor's favorite assets since she was the offspring of both the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi and a powerful inquisitor. She encountered Luke some time after ROTJ and had a rocky relationship with him in the decade following the Battle of Endor, but eventually they fell in love with each other and conceived Rey.

Ultimately, we'll discover that Snoke killed Mara and ordered young Kylo to kill Rey in order to make himself stronger in the dark side of the Force (sound familiar?). Unlike Vader, however, he couldn't bring himself to murder an innocent child so he secretly marooned her on Jakku instead and lied to everyone about her fate.

[Sidewinder]

What I'd like to know is who Rey was left with on Jakku? In the flashback she was holding someone's hand while she cried. Whoever that person is is a huge omission, plot-wise, that needs to be addressed since her identity is going to become a plot point in the series.

I was watching for that specifically the second time I saw it: it looks like it was the junk dealer (Unkar Plutt/Simon Pegg). For her security and his own, he could have pushed her off to the wrecks, taught her a little tech, then set her up as one of his scavengers. He raised the prices when she got good enough to need the challenge. Had her work on the Falcon because... well, it's the Falcon!

Was Plutt training Rey, or just neglecting her?

So did he want BB8 because the First Order wanted BB8, or because he wanted to hide BB8 from the First Order? More "tests"? His scav-camp got blown all to hell (thanks uncle Owen, aunt Beru!) in Rey's escape with the droid with the files to ... yeah.
In RotJ, Luke displayed some long-range plan/foresight Force skill: could the "Rey/Plutt/Falcon/Jakku contingency" have been set up specifically because he foresaw the Kylo Ren thing happening?

Unkar Plutt had NO PRIOR DEALINGS with Luke, Leia, Han, or Chewie- or their likely agents- before Rey stole the Falcon. In Alan Dean Foster's novelization of 'The Force Awakens'...

Warning: SPOILERS (I can't get the Spoiler

and

texts to work)...

Second warning: SPOILERS (again, I can't get the Spoiler

and

texts to work)...

Ready?

Plutt activates a tracking device he installed on the Falcon, as an anti-theft measure; following the signals, he tracks Rey down to Maz Kanata's castle, and bullies her. When Chewbacca objects to Plutt's treatment of Rey, the "junkboss" stupidly pokes Chewie's wounded shoulder, and gets his arm ripped off for provoking the Wookiee.

If Plutt was actually working WITH Luke, he'd probably get a code word he could tell Chewie, to let the Wookiee know they're on the same side. He'd at least get the warning, "Don't provoke an angry Wookiee- not if you want to stay in one piece."