Star Wars: The Force Awakens, despite its striking similarities to A New Hope, left viewers with several big questions. Like what was the point of General Snoke’s character, and why did R2-D2 suddenly come out of hibernation at the most conveniently opportune time? Most baffling, however, is the question of who are Rey’s parents? Luke Skywalker? Han Solo? It’s an inquiry that has birthed dozens - if not hundreds - of fan theories.
Those speculations gradually began to subside as seasons changed and Star Wars: Rogue One debuted an exciting new trailer. But some Star Wars fans have not forgotten, and that was quite evident at the currently ongoing Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The man himself J.J. Abrams was in town for a Q&A with Chris Rock when a fan asked about Rey’s parents. Of course, J.J. wasn’t about to straight up reveal his protagonist’s lineage ahead of Episode VIII, but he took his answer a bit further with a decisive statement:
“Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII. So I can’t possibly in this moment tell you who they are. This is all I will say: It’s something that Rey thinks about too.”
Oof. Well that’s perplexing as hell. But just when you were about to make peace with that idea and get onboard the Rey Kenobi train, the Episode VII director backtracked on his statements. EW has the scoop:
“What I meant was that she doesn’t discover them in Episode VII. Not that they may not already be in her world.”
Ooooooo….kayyyyy? “Discover” is such a puzzling word choice here, which is exactly why Abrams used it. But despite the ambiguity, Abrams seems to be implying that Rey has simply not discovered the “role” of her parents. Otherwise, I imagine J.J. would use a term more akin to “met” to suggest Luke or Han are not potential candidates.
Fans can theorize all they want, but the truth is that Rey’s family tree is currently one of the most heavily guarded secrets in the Star Wars cinematic universe, and we ain’t finding out nothing until Star Wars: Episode VIII (at the least). That chapter of the story arrives in theaters Dec. 17, 2017.
