Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Says It’s “Not an Accident” That Rey Is So Powerful With the Force

Fans have seen Rey become more and more powerful in the ways of the Force through her appearances in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and, while some fans have complained that she is getting too powerful, too quickly, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams recently hinted that her abilities are all part of a plan. Despite the sequel trilogy depicting Rey as undergoing similar training to what Luke Skywalker went through in the original trilogy, some audiences are having a hard time comprehending how she could be such a powerful character after coming from such humble beginnings.

When asked by Rolling Stone about the quick progression of her powers, Abrams replied, “Yeah, spooky, right? [Smiles] It’s a fair point. It’s not an accident.”

The original trilogy of films depicted Luke Skywalker as a powerful hero, though the first film only hinted at his Force abilities, depicting him as a proficient pilot who was able to make a mental connection with Obi-Wan Kenobi, even after the Jedi Master’s death. Despite there being no explanation for how Luke could suddenly use the Force recall his lightsaber from across a cave in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, fans just went along with it. The depictions of Rey embracing her abilities with the Force, however, have been called into question by fans for unknown reasons.

One possibility is that most of the marketing materials for Star Wars: The Force Awakens hinted at John Boyega’s Finn being the burgeoning Jedi, only for the film’s final act to reveal that it was Daisy Ridley‘s character that was attuned to the Force.

“The idea was to tell a tale of a young woman who was innately powerful, innately moral, innately good, but also struggling with her place in the world and forced to fend for herself in every way,” Abrams detailed of Rey’s journey. “As exciting as it was to get to play in the Star Wars universe, it was this young woman that I felt oddly compelled to get to know. Even at the very first meeting with [Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy, the idea came up about having a female at the center of it. There was an inherent sense of ‘We’ve seen the story before of the young hero,’ but we’d never seen it through the eyes of a woman like this, and that, to me, was the most exciting thing.”

Fans will see how Abrams will conclude the Skywalker Saga with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 20th.

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