When Star Wars: The Force Awakens released back in 2015, there was one overwhelmingly popular question: who are Rey’s parents? For many, this was a question that didn’t need answering, but for others it was vital information.
With the entire sequel trilogy now out, we know that Rey is a descendant of Sheev Palpatine. However, before the release of that critically panned film, multiple theories emerged, the most popular of which being Rey Kenobi. But did this theory ever make sense?
Kathleen Kennedy on Rey Kenobi
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy discussed the popular fan theory. The Lucasfilm had explained that — even outside of timelines not matching up — Obi-Wan Kenobi would never have a child.
“The bigger issue is talking about Obi-Wan as a Master Jedi, and the issue of attachment and selflessness,” Kennedy said. “In order for Obi-Wan to have a child, you are really, really impacting the rules around the Jedi. What does that mean?"
While Obi-Wan Kenobi has a vocal cameo in The Force Awakens, Kennedy explained that the sequel movies were not to touch on the character. She explained that the character was off the table, and the realisation of a Rey Kenobi plot twist would definitely harm the character. She said:
“If that were explored—and certainly there were a lot of ideas being thrown around—but anything to do with Obi-Wan in that regard was pretty much off the table because it flies in the face of everything George created in the mythology."
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The Palpatine Twist didn’t make sense either
Of course, Rey Kenobi isn’t the only part of the Star Wars prequels that wouldn’t make sense. While Episodes 7 and 8 fit well together, despite many not caring for the direction of 8, Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker takes a huge turn downwards.
After the fantastic reveal of Rey Nobody — her parents are unimportant — The Rise of Skywalker spends two hours undoing that. Instead of being a random girl that was chosen by The Force, similar to Anakin, Rey is now the granddaughter of Palpatine.
Understandably, many hate this twist. Those who liked Rey before hate how it takes a dump on the Rey Nobody reveal. Additionally, those who hated Rey typically think the Palpatine connection was forced and and unearned.