Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Writer Thought Rey’s Parents Being Nobodies Was “Too Easy”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker finally hit theaters last month and was met with a mixed response from moviegoers. Currently, the new movie is up on Rotten Tomatoes with the second-worst critics score for a live-action Star Wars movie, earning a surprising 53%. However, the film is fairing better with moviegoers and currently has an 86% audience score. One plot point that has fans divided is the reveal of Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) heritage. In a recent interview with GQ, the film’s writer, Chris Terrio, who also wrote Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, defended the choice.

Warning: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers Ahead…

In the new movie, it’s revealed that Rey is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Terrio believes that sticking to the choice from Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which made it seem that Rey was actually a “nobody,” would have been “too easy.”

“Well, we weren’t convinced that it had been cleared up, because there’s still this highly troubling vision that Rey had in Episode VII, which is the shop with her parents leaving the planet,” Terrio explained. “Also, the events of The Last Jedi are literally just after the events of Episode VII—within 48 hours, Rey has had a force-back to her parents and then the very next day is told ‘your parents were no one and they were junk traders. None of that matters.’ And we thought in a way that would be too easy because of the idea that Rey had been longing for her parents for so many years. We just felt like there was something more going on.”

In another recent interview with IndieWire, Terrio hinted that the return of Palpatine and his connection to Rey had always been a part of the plan.

“I don’t know that I’m supposed to get into the specifics of what story points were already in place, but what I can say is that J.J. always had an idea in his head of where he wanted us to emotionally leave the trilogy, and I think he wanted Rey to have to contend with the very worst things about herself that we could imagine,” he said. “When Rey was wondering what her place in all this was — and she articulated that in ‘Episode 8’ — but she wondered it in ‘Episode 7,’ too. J.J. always felt that she should get the worst possible news,” he shared.

What are your thoughts on Terrio’s explanation? Tell us in the comments!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now playing in theaters everywhere.