Could Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hold the secret of Rey’s parentage?

One of the biggest mysteries left behind by Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the franchise’s new female hero; Rey. Well, specifically, who exactly is she and who are her parents?

Both Rey’s past and future will be a central point in the franchise moving forward but it’s possible we might be getting some answers sooner than expected. Yes, there is a rumour going around that Rey’s mother will actually appear in the next Star Wars film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Dozens of theories have surfaced since The Force Awakens was released focusing on who Rey’s father could be. Many have concluded that it must be Luke Skywalker, as several clues seem to suggest. However, others have offered that Rey is a Kenobi and the granddaughter of Obi-Wan.

The only mention of Rey’s parents in the official The Force Awakens novelisation is during Rey’s vision, and it’s Rey’s mother who delivers this line…

“Stay here, I’ll come back for you. I’ll come back, sweetheart. I promise.”

As Kylo Ren’s massacre of the Jedi students occurred when he was 15 (and Rey was 5), many fans have come to the conclusion that considering Rey’s Force sensitivity, she was left on Jakku mainly to protect her from Kylo Ren. It would make a lot of sense to connect Rey’s storyline of abandonment with Ren’s betrayal.

It’s possible that Rey’s parents were involved in the Rebel Alliance and were planning for Rey to train with Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy, before Kylo Ren wiped them all out with his Knights of Ren as depicted in Rey’s Force vision.

Rogue One, based on reports we’ve heard over the last month or so, is set to be an excellent addition to the Star Wars family of movies in its own right. The lead character is a female one, played by Felicity Jones, named, according to MakingStarWars, Jyn  and who is rumoured to be the daughter of Mads Mikkelsen’s Death Star scientist. Jones’s character leads the mission to retrieve the Death Star plans which end up being crucial to the plot of A New Hope.

While Rogue One is obviously not concerned with connecting too much to the current trilogy, it would make sense for it to introduce – or at least hint – that Jones’s protagonist is Rey’s mother. If you put yourself in the shoes of the Lucasfilm and Disney executives, it may be massively beneficial to fuel speculation over Rey’s mother while we patiently await Episode 8’s release in December 2017.

There are other clues pointing to the true identity of Rey’s mother, of course, with the main one being her accent. Traditionally, a British accent like Rey’s is used in Star Wars to denote authoritative characters who are from central planets, like Coruscant, the previous home of the Galactic Senate.

With that in mind, Rey’s accent must have been picked up from her parents, clearly not from Jakku. Coincidentally, Felicity Jones is also English and doesn’t look a million miles away from being a relation of Rey. Her physical resemblance and accent may have been pivotal when she was being cast for Rogue One.

Remember, we’re only spitballing here and take this as pure speculation and rumour. It is entirely possible that Rogue One won’t tap into Rey’s parentage in the slightest. It is also for it to form its own identity as a ‘standalone’ Star Wars movie, therefore not connecting to the current trilogy. While we think it would be really cool for this particular element to be explored in Rogue One, we’re not sure if that’s the direction they’re going down.

Source: Squareeyed