Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Writer Addresses How The Last Jedi Impacted Rey’s Parents in New Film

Star Wars: The Force Awakens presented audiences with the question of who Rey’s parents could be and, while Star Wars: The Last Jedi seemingly answered that question, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker co-writer Chris Terrio notes that, with this story unfolding on a continuum, the upcoming film can offer another solution that won’t necessarily contradict what came before it. Much like the first film in the sequel trilogy presented us with one option, The Last Jedi presented it with another, leaving the possibility that a number of objective truths could be revealed that don’t discredit the narratives of those two films.

“I agree, that’s a really interesting thing that [The Last Jedi writer/director] Rian [Johnson] did,” Terrio shared with Rolling Stone about the film offering an unexpected answer. “It’s a democratization of Star Wars, saying that your lineage and your blood doesn’t necessarily determine who you are, and your past doesn’t determine your future. But we took those provocations as ideas that we could grapple with and hopefully expand upon in this film, because I don’t think it’s a dialectic of one or the other, where either you come from nothing or you are born royalty.”

One of the biggest complications about Rey’s parents is that the “reveal” of her parents came from Kylo Ren, someone who had no problem manipulating someone to get what he wants. In that regard, it’s possible he was lying about everything and her parents were important, or it’s possible he was telling the truth.

“There’s a lot of ground in between. Even Ren’s terminology isn’t… When he says, ‘You’re no one’ — well, what does that mean?” the writer pondered. “Is that how Rey would think about herself? Does Rey even think of these questions? I’m trying not to reveal any story points here! There’s a Gordian knot in my tongue. I think those are really valid ideas that Rian put forth, but any series of films, especially if you have three, is a conversation — which is, as I said early on when I was talking to J.J., thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. If Force Awakens asks the question of who is Rey and where did she come from, and then The Last Jedi answered it with a negative in a certain way, hopefully The Rise of Skywalker will take those two ideas and create a third thing.”

Regardless of what reveals take place in The Rise of Skywalker, the important takeaway from The Last Jedi is, even if Rey’s parents come from a legacy of powerful Force-wielders, the film’s “Broom Boy” character, who we see demonstrate his powers with the Force while also feeling inspired by the Resistance, confirms that anyone should feel empowered to fight for what they believe in.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands in theaters on December 20th.

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