Is Kylo Ren Telling The Truth About Rey’s Parents?
The question of Rey’s parents has been bugging fans ever since her past remained a mystery in The Force Awakens. The thinking was that, what with her immense natural Force powers, she had to have some pretty notable ancestors. Was she a Skywalker? A Solo? A Kenobi? Maybe even a Palpatine?
In what’s typical of its subversive, brave attitude, The Last Jedi pushes aside all those theories and apparently reveals that Rey’s parents were actually… nobody. As Kylo Ren tells her, Rey’s parents were just two heartless Jakku citizens who sold their daughter off for money. But is this actually the truth?
Rian Johnson says that it was absolutely his intention that Ren is telling Rey the facts in this scene, but he did remind us that anything can get retconned away in Star Wars, leaving the door open for J.J. Abrams to drop a new revelation in Episode IX.
How Will Carrie Fisher’s Absence Be Handled In Episode IX?
Something that put a cloud over The Last Jedi‘s release was the untimely passing of Carrie Fisher last December, which made this the unintentional final appearance of the actress as the legendary General/Princess Leia. So, would something be done to the movie to write out the character?
As it happens, Johnson made the probably correct decision in not tampering with Fisher’s performance or Leia’s character arc at all. While that allows the movie to act as a testament to the much-missed icon, it does leave Episode IX with the thorny issue of handling Leia’s exit itself.
That said, The Last Jedi does see her grooming Poe to be her replacement as the Resistance leader. While the logistics of explaining the character’s absence might have to be contrived, there will be some thematic throughline in the story. However Leia is written out of the saga, Poe taking her place has already been set up.