10 Star Wars Details Only Explained Outside Of The Films
7. Rey's Dad Was A Clone - Rise Of Skywalker Novelization)
The thing you need to remember about this pair of plot points is that Attack Of The Clones has basically kneecapped the entire Star Wars canon (because it's the worst one, you see. Yes, so much worse than Rise. Go back and watch Clones again, you'll agree). When you introduce cloning as a concept, to the extent that cloning one guy can result in an entire army, you've pretty much ensured that no bad guy will stay down for long.
Which is why the novelization of Rise once more swooped in to try and make sense of Abrams' and Terrio's script. Rather than leave Rey's parentage where it was in The Last Jedi, the story decided to punch Rey in the gut even more by revealing that she didn't just come from nothing, but from something objectively evil.
Her father was a clone of Palpatine, who ran away from his "father" when he fell for Rey's mother. When dear old grandpa caught up with them, they left Rey on Jakku and went to meet their fates.
But hey, at least this version of events means that Palpatine DIDN'T reproduce. Which of course means I tore out my own eyes at the thought for nothing. Crap.