Star Wars Fan Theory Pegs Rey As Granddaughter to Emperor Palpatine

Fan theories are developed off of the smallest pieces of fact within the Star War universe, but the newest one to pop up has gained some significant momentum.

It involves Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens heroine Rey, who some predict to be the granddaughter of Sith Emperor Palpatine. While fans are always eager to predict someone’s move to the dark side, this one has some merit, as illustrated in a new video from Vincent Vendetta (via SlashFilm). Let’s go over the reasoning.

The first point revolves around Rey and Palpatine’s fighting style. I would’ve balked at it if they hadn’t run the footage side by side, but after seeing it, having Rey attack with her lightsaber that way seems like a specific choice, rather than any kind of coincidence. They are the only two force users to fight in this way, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this was intentional.

Next up is her pull to the dark side, but most of the examples seem to be subjective. That is, until the last part, which highlights her final fight with Kylo Ren. The script actually hints that she is resisting the dark side after she defeats him.

“And she could kill him — right now, with ONE VICIOUS STRIKE! But she stops. Realizing she stands on a greater edge than even the cliff — the edge of the dark side.” This is further established in The Force Awakens official novel, which alludes to a voice in her head. “Kill him, a voice inside her head said. It was amorphous, unidentifiable, raw. Pure vengeful emotion. So easy, she told herself. So quick.’

Some would take that to be the influence of her lineage, that of her Grandfather. Not conclusive, but it does lend the theory some further credence.

Further, still, Vendetta comes around to why Rey was left on Jakku, which he sees as a play from Luke Skywalker to keep Rey out of Snoke’s hands. The thinking would be that Luke found Rey when he was scouting for his Jedi Academy, and brought her back to their base. At that point, Vendetta speculates that Rey interacted with Ben Solo, now known as Kylo Ren. That is why in the books and in the film, he alludes to knowing her before.

While it might all be conjecture, it raises some pretty solid points, and it could very well turn out to be true. You can watch the entire video above.