With the recent release of Bloodline, we have gotten numerous bits of information about the galaxy far far away in the times leading up to The Force Awakens. Among some of the most impactful are some ideas that pertain to Rey and her origins. Let’s explore some of the ramifications here for a bit. As usual, consider yourself warned as the following contains spoilers for the novel Bloodline.
What follows isn’t completely original speculation, and has been thrown around there by various sites. We still want to consider the ideas and implications and see if it makes sense.
One of the things we have learned from Bloodline is that Luke was training his Jedi knights as far back as 6 years prior to TFA. At this time, Ben Solo was just Ben Solo, and there was no Kylo Ren. This time was perhaps the calm before the storm that ensued in the galaxy, ultimately impacting everything. When we combine this with the fact that Rey’s flashback indicates that she was put on Jakku way before Luke disappeared.
One of the most popular theories out there is that Luke is Rey’s father.There are of course numerous other theories out there, but to at least the casual movie goer, the hints of this were pretty clear. There are so many hints of this. Now, I’m open minded here, and I could totally see some other scenario happening, and I wouldn’t be upset if that happened. Nevertheless, with the little information that we have, my current favorite theory remains that Luke is Rey’s father.
However, the sticking point has been that this would mean that Luke would have left off Rey on Jakku. This was previously understandable if he would have left her on Jakku for her protection, from Kylo Ren or something, and if it was triggered by the destruction of his Jedi Order. This made sense before Bloodline, before we found out that she was left on Jakku long before the destruction of Luke’s Jedi Order. However, there is a way that it does work. It works if Luke doesn’t even know about her. What if Luke had a relationship with a woman long before he started the Jedi order, and he was never told that he had a child? Under this scenario, it could be Rey’s mother that seemingly handed Rey to Unkar Plutt on Jakku.
Enter Mara Jade
If we take a look at “Legends”, we have the huge character of Mara Jade. Mara was a fan favorite for sure. She was a much-loved character that appeared in a ton of books and material. Her backstory is that she was identified by the Emperor, and trained as his Force-sensitive assassin. She ended up having a child with Luke: Ben Skywalker. Now, it’s definitely clear that the story has changed in the new canon. Ben is now a Solo, and there doesn’t appear to be a young male Skywalker that we know of.
Now, we know that this is just “Legends” and not cannon. However, much of the new canon has been inspired by Legends material. Many fans have recently figured out that Rogue One seems to be heavily borrowed from the “Dark Forces” video game, but with many names changed. Looking at these observations, it seems to hold up as a decent theory for Rogue One. So it certainly wouldn’t be out of the question for them to base a character on Mara Jade. She could have a different name, and a different backstory, or maybe they’d keep the name and change just parts of the backstory. Either way, there could be a common thread of similarities that shine through.
Imagine a scenario where a character like Mara Jade, was trained by the Emperor or maybe even Snoke, and had a fling with Luke that led to Rey’s birth. However, knowing that the child would be in danger, this woman sought to keep her daughter secret, ultimately to hide her on Jakku for her protection. For example, this version of Mara may have known that Snoke sought to kill Luke Skywalker, and therefore thought if Rey was left with him, she would also be in danger. Just imagine the drama and conflict in that kind of a story.
A lot of people have pointed out what looks like a tombstone next to Luke at the end of TFA. Here is the screencap:
Of course we don’t know for sure what this means, and even if it is a tombstone, it could refer to the fallen Jedi killed by Kylo Ren. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning as a possible connection to this line of thinking.
At this point it’s anyone’s guess as to who’s Rey’s parents are, and we may be completely surprised at the answer, thrown a curve ball in Episode VIII that ends up being a strike in Episode IX. Time will tell, and the speculation is half the fun!
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