Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Had A Different Idea For Rey's Parents, According To Simon Pegg
She wasn't always a nobody.
After two years of fan theories and speculation, Star Wars: The Last Jedi revealed the identity of Rey's parents: they were nobodies.
Kylo Ren breaks the news after the pair's Throne Room fight with the Praetorian Guards, pushing Rey to see the truth she's known all along and telling her: "They were filthy junk traders; sold you off for drinking money. They're dead in a pauper's grave in the Jakku desert. You have no place in this story; you come from nothing."
Director Rian Johnson has explained that was the route he went down because it's the most painful thing Rey could possibly hear, given her belief that one day her family would come back for her. However, it seems J.J. Abrams - who introduced Rey in The Force Awakens - might've had a different idea. Speaking to Happy Sad Confused, Simon Pegg, who appeared in Episode VII and knows Abrams well, said:
“Well I know what J.J. kind of intended, or at least what was sort of being chucked around. I think that’s kind of been undone slightly by [The Last Jedi]. I don’t know. I don’t know. [Laughs] I think Unkar Plutt is Rey’s real father.
“There was some talk about, you know, a kind of relevant lineage for her. But I honestly don’t know, and I don’t know if anybody knows. We shall see.”
Obviously Pegg stops short of giving away any concrete details there, but the suggestion is clear that there was a different route initially planned, which Johnson chose not to follow. Abrams could always revert back to his original choice, whatever it may be - a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi, for example - in Episode IX, with Johnson previously saying it could still be open if Abrams wanted to revisit it.
What do you think about the reveal of Rey's parentage? Let us know down in the comments.