At the microphone of Vanity Fair, last May, Kathleen Kennedy explained why the writers of episode XI had not made Rey the granddaughter of Obi-Wan, contrary to what some fans had hoped.
SPOILERS – Warning, the article below reveals potential spoilers. If you don’t want to know the content, please don’t read the following…
In December 2019, in The Rise of Skywalker, after 4 years of questioning and speculation about Rey’s origins, we finally learned that she was actually the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. But long before this revelation occurred in episode XI of the Star Wars saga, many fans had tried to guess who the ancestors of the young heroine really were.
Star Wars has always been a family story, many theories that have flourished on the web obviously concerned former characters in the saga, and in particular Obi-Wan Kenobi. Indeed, for a long time, the famous Jedi master embodied by Ewan McGregor had been designated in multiple forums as the ideal grandfather for Rey.
The only downside (of size) being that a Jedi is not supposed to bind a romantic relationship or have children.
Asked about this at the microphone of Vanity Fair last May, the president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy had precisely explained that this millennial precept of the Jedi – central in the universe built by George Lucas – had represented a border not to be crossed for the screenwriters of the new trilogy:
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“The big question is talking about Obi-Wan as a Jedi Master, and the problem of attachment and selflessness”had entrusted Kathleen Kennedy.
“Having Obi-Wan have a child would have had a real impact on the rules surrounding the Jedi. What does that mean? That even if that avenue were explored – and there are certainly plenty of ideas that have been thrown around about it – anything that had to do with Obi-Wan in this regard was not considered, because it would have been against everything that George [Lucas] created in mythology [Star Wars].”
“We’re not adamant about it. It’s of course always open to discussion. But it’s a very important tenet of Jedi mythology that we didn’t really want to touch”concluded Kennedy.
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By the own admission of Daisy Ridley, interpreter of Rey in the postlogy, the origins of her character evolved a lot during the scriptwriting.
“Initially, they toyed with the idea of a connection to Obi-Wan. Then, because there were several versions, they moved towards the idea that she is not connected to anyone”confided the actress in September 2020, on the set of Jimmy Kimmel.
“And when Episode IX came around, JJ pitched the movie to me and was like, ‘Ah, by the way, Palpatine is your grandfather,’ and I was like, ‘So good.’ But two weeks later later he said to me, ‘Actually, it’s not sure’. So that kept changing.”
(Re)discover the false connections of “The Rise of Skywalker”…