The marketing for the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has given us two trailers so far, both of which concluded with a shocking twist at the end. First, there was the April teaser, which finished off with the familiar sound of Emperor Palpatine’s laughter. Following that, Disney released a second promo a few weeks back, which ended with the surprising shot of Rey dressed in black and holding a red, double-bladed lightsaber.
Obviously, this has led to a ton of speculation, with many thinking that Dark Rey was just a Force illusion/vision, kind of like how Luke saw himself as Vader in the cave on Dagobah back in The Empire Strikes Back. Others, meanwhile, insist it’s some kind of evil clone, perhaps created by the Emperor. Or maybe Daisy Ridley’s heroine is even possessed by Palpatine himself?
Well, we’re here to tell you that the truth behind this moment has now been revealed. According to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Ewan McGregor was returning as Obi-Wan and that Rey and Palpatine share a special connection, which Making Star Wars has since confirmed – the shot of Dark Rey in the trailer is indeed a vision brought on by the Emperor, who’s trying to corrupt her so she’ll come to the Dark Side.
From what we understand, the plan is for her and Kylo to join him and rule over the “New Empire.” He’s especially intent on getting them to help him since apparently, Palpatine knows he doesn’t have long to live and will soon be gone.
Details beyond that remain unclear, but the main takeaway here is that the shot of Dark Rey in the trailer was indeed just a vision and not her being possessed or something else. Whether she’ll ultimately give in to the darkness remains to be seen, of course, but with just a few months left to go now before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands in theaters, we’ll find out soon enough.