There’s definitely more to her than we’re being told.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t very far away, but despite the fact we’re close to seeing it in theaters there’s very little we know about the major characters in the film. Sure, old favorites from the previous installments are coming back but the new trilogy is definitely setting up a new “big three” of Poe, Finn, and Rey. Those three newcomers all seem to have very interesting set ups… but how will the film be handling them? And how will they fit into the greater story being told of the new trilogy?
Well, when it comes to Rey we’ve created this handy dandy guide to keep you up to date with the character. Don’t worry, we’ll be making a similar one with for all the newcommers and some old favorites soon enough.
What’s her deal?
She’s been living on Jakku since she was a small girl. Her family left her there and she’s been waiting for their return ever since. In that time, she’s been surviving as a scavenger by picking at the wrecks left behind from the massive Battle of Jakku thirty years prior. She also has an awesome speeder that looks like it was salvaged from something much bigger.
Who is her family and why did they leave her on Jakku?
We don’t know for certain, but we have several theories on who her family. It’s pretty obvious she’s tied to the Skywalker clan in some way, though we don’t know if it’s by Luke or Leia. As for why they left/hid her there, it’s probably because her family was trying to protect her the same way Obi-Wan and Yoda were trying to protect Luke and Leia from Vader and the Emperor.
Do we know her last name?
We do not, though there are some rumors she’s also referred to as “Kira.”
Is she a Jedi?
No, but it’s been leaked she’s Force sensitive. We’re willing to bet that means she’s going to be trained as a Jedi over the course of the new trilogy. By the end of Episode IX, we wouldn’t be surprised if she was a badass on the same level as Luke in Return of the Jedi.
Another alternative is that she may go to the dark side, but that’s merely speculation at this point.
Is she at all related to Kylo Ren?
There’s nothing that’s been officially confirmed, but it would be in keeping with the previous entries in the Star Wars saga to give them blood ties. We’ve speculated that they’re brother and sister, but they could also be cousins as well. This is of course all speculation, but we wouldn’t be surprised if any of it happened to hit the mark.
What’s with her staff?
It’s just a regular old staff that she either created or salvaged from something on Jakku. There have been theories that it was the staff of the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis but they have been debunked by Rey’s actress Daisy Ridley. The actress went through combat training on how to use the staff, so it’s safe to assume Rey is a proficient fighter with that weapon.
What role does she have to play in the film?
Well, we know that she comes into contact with Poe’s droid BB-8, which we think is carrying some very important information. Finn crash lands on Jakku in a TIE Fighter after having contact with Poe, so we’re going to assume he’s searching for BB-8 and meets Rey in the process. The two run from the First Order together and somehow get aboard the Millennium Falcon and meet up with Han Solo.
She’s obviously inheriting the idealistic, adventure thirsty role Luke had in A New Hope, so expect her to have that point of view in the film.
She also seems to have a bit of an angry streak to her, which probably comes from the resentment of being left on a desert planet:
Will she be in Episode VIII?
We’re going to assume she is, but there has been no official confirmation as of yet.
