One of the most debated points of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was about the lineage of Daisy Ridley’s Rey.
Setup as only a very minor element in ‘Force Awakens’, the question over the identity of Rey’s parents grew out of the fandom between films and the obvious precedence set by Lucas’ movies which paint legacy as a very important part of this screen universe.
Johnson’s film made it clear her parents were essentially nobodies in the greater scheme of the universe, a change that meant the Force wasn’t always reliant on bloodlines – re-democratising it as a talent some are just naturally gifted at like music or math.
Others hated it because it was just another element that confirmed that either J.J. Abrams’ plan for that element had been discarded, or more worryingly there never was an overarching trilogy plan and they were making it up as they went along.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” then came out and answered the question that made Rey into Palpaltine’s granddaughter and heir to the powers of the Sith. It was a reveal that, like the film itself, was mostly met with a negative reaction and complaints of it feeling clumsy and forced.
Speaking with Josh Gad for Jimmy Kimmel Live recently, Ridley has now confirmed those original assessments – turns out Abrams didn’t have an initial plan for them either and even by the time ‘Rise’ got around to filming, they hadn’t entirely settled on what they had planned to do:
“At the beginning, there was toying with an Obi-Wan connection. There were different versions, and then it really went to she was ‘no one’. Then it came to Episode IX and J.J. pitched me the film and was like, ‘Oh yeah, Palpatine’s granddaddy. And I was like, ‘Awesome’. And then two weeks later he was like, ‘Oh, we’re not sure.’ So, it kept changing. So, then even when I was filming, I wasn’t sure what the answer was gonna be.”
Despite the backlash, even from some of the cast members, “Rise of Skywalker” earned more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
