- Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" so if you haven't seen the movie, look away.
- "Star Wars: Episode IX" finally tells us if Rey is a Skywalker, Kenobi, Palpatine, or a nobody.
- She's a Palpatine.
- From connections found in her theme song to Palpatine's voice appearing in her "The Force Awakens" vision, Insider rounds up the hints that suggested she was destined to be connected to the franchise's important Sith lord.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
After three movies and four years, we finally have the answer to the biggest question of the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy: Who is Rey?
Fan theories posited she was anyone from a Skywalker to a Kenobi. "The Last Jedi"suggested she was a nobody. Those who guessed that Rey is a Palpatine were right. "The Rise of Skywalker" reveals that Rey is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine.
If you thought the big reveal came out of nowhere, there were some signs along the way that the powerful Jedi was more than just a random scavenger from Jakku. Insider rounded up a dozen hints that Rey was going to wind up being someone important to the Skywalker saga.
Palpatine's voice is heard in Rey's Force vision from "The Force Awakens."
Rey's Force vision in "The Force Awakens" was a mix of visual scenes and voices of the past. If you watched the scene with subtitles you could make out the voices of Jedi including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.
However, you may not have realized that there were even more voices in this scene because they don't appear when you watch the movie with captions.
Tim Leong put together a visual breakdown of Rey's vision, verified by Lucasfilm, in "Star Wars Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to a Galaxy Far, Far Away" and it showed that Rey's Force vision included dialogue from Luke Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine.
An hour and six minutes into "The Force Awakens," Chancellor Palpatine can be heard saying, "Any Jedi." The line is from a pivotal scene in "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" when Palpatine is telling young Anakin Skywalker to be careful of the Jedi and to join him on the dark side of the Force. Were the Jedi and Palpatine all reaching out to Rey here in a fight for her allegiance?
You can see a high-res version of the graphic here.
The first time Rey ever uses a lightsaber, it resembles a move Palpatine makes the first time we see him wield a saber in "Revenge of the Sith."
In 2016, New York Times' best-selling author and chef J. Kenji López-Alt wrote a very thorough and convincing explanation for why he believed Rey is a Palpatine. (You can read his theory in full here.)
He noticed a parallel in the way Rey used Luke's lightsaber the very first time in "The Force Awakens" and how Chancellor Palpatine used his lightsaber when it was unveiled in "Revenge of the Sith." Both characters fight with a stabbing motion as they hold the saber in both hands.
López-Alt points out that they're the only two to adopt this fighting style.
Rey's name may have hinted at her connection to the Emperor.
Early in production, Rey's name was actually going to be Kira. In "The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens," she was described as a loner and a hothead.
Why change it to Rey?
It's easy to make the connection that Rey could signify a ray of light or hope. "The Force Awakens" also follows the structure of "A New Hope," which introduces us to Luke, who brought a new sense of hope to the rebellion against the Empire.
But there's likely another reason.
Rey translates to King in Latin. If Rey was going to be connected to Emperor Palpatine, why not give her a name synonymous with power?
Rey and Kylo Ren seemed destined to be important grandchildren in the "Star Wars" universe right down to their connected theme music by John Williams.
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas always intended for the saga to flow like poetry. If Kylo Ren was the grandson of a great power that originated on the light side of the Force, then it makes sense that his counterpart would be the granddaughter of another great power that originated on the dark side of the Force.
Kylo Ren fell to the dark side and Rey, blind to her dark lineage, was drawn to the light. They're near mirrors of one another. That's perfectly captured on the cover of "The Art of Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker," which will be released in March 2020, seen above.
If that doesn't convince you about how the characters are connected, "Star Wars" composer John Williams connected their two themes. Many have pointed out that the first three notes of Rey's theme are the last three of Kylo Ren's. You can take a listen here.
Fans have pointed out similarities between the musical themes of Palpatine and Rey, too.
"Star Wars" composer John Williams is known to tie together the musical themes of related characters. YouTuber RedCaio pointed out similarities in the intro to Rey's theme and Palpatine's theme. It may be easier to hear from YouTuber kangatron here.
For what it's worth, others thought Rey's theme also shares similarities to Darth Vader's Imperial March.
Rey's lineage is supposedly why Luke didn't want to train her.
In "The Last Jedi," Luke tells Rey, "I only saw this raw strength once before. In Ben Solo. It didn't scare me then. It does now."
We're told in "The Rise of Skywalker" that both Luke and Leia knew Rey was a Palpatine. It's likely why Leia tells Rey in "Episode IX" to never be afraid of who she is.
Looking back now, even if it may not have been the original intent, it makes sense that Luke would hesitate in training a Palpatine. He couldn't even bring himself to train his own nephew after he sensed a bit of the dark side in him.
Rey went immediately to the dark side of the Force when Luke started training her.
While reaching out and feeling the Force, Rey told Luke she sensed there was a dark place, beneath the island of Ahch-To. You can see him start to get nervous.
"It's cold," Rey said as the ground beneath her began to crack. "It's calling me."
Though Luke told her to resist it, she went straight to the dark. It unsettled Luke that she gave into temptation that easily.
"You went straight to the dark," he said. "It offered something you needed and you didn't even try to stop yourself."
Soon after, Rey sought out the darkness on the island when it called to her anyway. She didn't even hesitate.
Director J.J. Abrams said he had different plans for Rey's parents than what was revealed in "The Last Jedi."
After "The Last Jedi" dubbed Rey a nobody, Simon Pegg, who played Unkar Plutt in "The Force Awakens,"told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that Abrams originally had a plan for Rey to have a "relevant lineage" to the "Star Wars" universe.
Palpatine's return was originally discussed as far back as "The Force Awakens."
Abrams told Uproxx that he and "Star Wars" screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan always discussed bringing Palpatine back into the fold in some way. How can you continue the Skywalker saga without its foil?
"When you look at this as nine chapters of a story, perhaps the weirder thing would be if Palpatine didn't return,"said Abrams. "You just look at what he talks about, who he is, how important he is, what the story is — strangely, his absence entirely from the third trilogy would be conspicuous."
Concept art in "The Art of Star Wars The Force Awakens" even shows Rey traveling to the crashed Death Star in Palpatine's old throne room to discover a map to Luke's location.
Rey had so much raw, unlimited power. That should have been a hint about her heritage.
The main complaint some fans had about Rey was that she seemingly had unlimited power. Everything came easily to her and she seemed more powerful than any Jedi despite seemingly being a nobody.
That probably should have been a big hint that she was related to one of the most powerful people who ever lived. Who else has had seemingly unhinged "unlimited power"? Palpatine.
Rey had to be someone powerful if she was strong enough to easily overpower a Skywalker.
Emperor Palpatine said Anakin Skywalker, who was willed to life by the Force, could be more powerful than any Jedi. It was only his son, Luke, who could stand up to him. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, who was nicknamed the Jedi Killer, showed a similar unwavering strength until Rey showed up in his life and made his powers look like child's play.
When captured, she easily overpowered him and saw into his mind, telling him he was afraid he would never be as strong as Darth Vader. That's not something a typical Force user could reveal.
Rey uses Force lightning in "The Rise of Skywalker."
This didn't necessarily mean that Rey was related to Palpatine. It could have been a hint that Rey was just giving into her feelings of anger and aggression, which brought out a power we've only ever seen Sith use in action.
Still, it was definitely a bit of foreshadowing to the eventual reveal about Rey's connection to Palpatine.
On the flip side, it makes little sense that Anakin and Luke's lightsaber would call to Rey instead of Kylo Ren.
Shouldn't Rey be drawn to something of Palpatine's instead of Luke's lightsaber in "The Force Awakens"?
Can we argue that the Palpatine's obsession with the Skywalker family drew her to Anakin's lightsaber? That may be a bit of a reach.