Star Wars 9: "There's More To The Story" Of Rey's Parents In The Rise Of Skywalker
JJ Abrams promises Episode IX will honour The Last Jedi, but also add to it.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker won't retcon The Last Jedi when it comes to Rey's parents, but director J.J. Abrams has promised that there'll be some additions to what we were told in Episode VIII.
Rey's parentage has been one of the hot topics of Disney's Sequel Trilogy, with rampant speculation both before and after The Force Awakens. Was she a Skywalker? A Kenobi? A Palpatine? Something else? Rian Johnson cut down all of these theories with The Last Jedi, where it was revealed that Rey's parents are actually nobodies.
Kylo Ren makes her see the truth, that they were drunks who sold her off for gambling money, and it's a great twist because it's the last thing in the world Rey wants to hear. However, after so many theories there were members of the fanbase who didn't like the answer, and have hoped Abrams would walk it back since he's returning to finish what he started. In a new interview with ABC News, Abrams was asked about Rey's parents, and said:
"I will say that we knew, going into this, that this movie, it had to be a satisfying conclusion. And we were well aware that that’s one of the things that’s been out there. I don’t want to say that what happens in Episode 8 [didn’t happen]. We have honored that. But I will say that there’s more to the story than you’ve seen."
It's a very typical Abrams sort of tease, which could be interpreted to mean a bunch of different things. But the baseline seems to be that while Rey's parents are nobody we know, The Rise of Skywalker will further explore either who they were, or some other aspect of her creation, and build upon what we learned there. Given the divided fandom, that might be the best way of opposing both sides when it comes to Rey's parents.