Rey’s parents were dismissed as “filthy junk traders” in The Last Jedi, reinforcing the idea that the Force is not connected to family lineage. Not everybody needs to be the offspring of an established character. This point about Jedi potential coming from anywhere is well and good, but from certain points of view it leaves a lot of questions about some events of The Force Awakens. A new theory has surfaced from Film Threat, which takes a different and exciting approach to Rey’s parentage. Let’s break it down.
Although this theory is speculation and completely unconfirmed, if you’re sensitive to learning something that could conceivably be a spoiler (or end up being completely wrong), then I would stop reading. Sometimes getting your hopes up on a theory that is totally wrong could be just as disappointing as being spoiled for some people. Many fans think this theory is plausible, and many think it’s totally wrong.
First off, let’s watch the theory:
Now that you’ve seen the full story, what do you think? The theory suggests that Han is Rey’s father, with Qi’ra as her mother during a period when Han and Leia were separated. Personally, I kind of like it. I would be OK with the “parents=nobody” narrative from TLJ, but I would also love a big twist like this. Here’s why:
I like the parallels to the OT, with Rey and Ben Solo being “half-siblings”, and I like this as an explanation of their connection via the Force, and why their “ForceSkype” continued after Snoke’s death. I also like the way it explains Han’s behavior around Rey. Han was being very paternal, wasn’t he? Remember all that stuff around TFA, like Daisy Ridley thinking the parents were “obvious” from TFA. Remember that interview when Rey said that the fact that Rey was “solitary was a big clue“, which many connected Solo with solitary. There was that whole “Han solo was like a father you never had” from Kylo to Rey. Then there was the whole “what girl?” thing from Kylo Ren. The video covers much of these points, but there were quite a few things that had many people thinking Rey was a Solo early on.
The Last Jedi was a unique Star Wars film. While it mostly “bucked the trend” of previous films, it also had many parallels. For example, it bucked the trend by having the main bad guy die in the second film of the trilogy, but it had the parallel of the second in command bad guy, Kylo Ren, ask the protagonist to join him to defeat the main bad guy and rule the galaxy together–just like Vader did to Luke. It did have the “I am your father” moment when Kylo Ren basically said “nobody is your father”. Both were the most shocking thing the protagonist could hear, and while Vader was of course telling the truth, was Kylo? According to the theory, Kylo resents Han Solo for leaving him and his mother.
One thing not discussed by the theory is that according to the Art of The Force Awakens book, the original name for Rey was Kira, which is very similar to Qi’ra. In fact, Rey is referred to as “Kira (Rey)” almost everywhere in that book, leading some to speculate that Kira is her real name. Given that Qi’ra was sort of indentured to Maul and Crimson Dawn, she might be the kind of person that could leave her child on Jakku if she had to. She left Han after all. She felt that she had no choice and was forced to join Maul on Dathomir at the end of Solo, and she may have felt forced to leave Rey in a similar situation. I can’t think of any character in Star Wars that straight-up abandoned someone like that other than Qi’ra and Rey’s parents.
The problem with this theory is that this would imply that Han would have a child with a previous lover while separated from Leia. Would Han actually do that? Well, we do have this kind of quote from the Aftermath: Empire’s End book:
It’s been hard for Han. He won’t say it out loud, but she can see it on his face. Her husband needs something to do. He’s bored. Chewbacca’s back home, looking for his family. Luke’s searching the galaxy for old Jedi teachings. Han Solo’s got nothing to smuggle, nowhere to gamble, no foolish Rebellion to fight for.
She knew something was up with Han, but may not have considered Qi’ra. She may not have even known about her. Would Han do such a thing? Does the timing even work out? The book takes place around 5ABY, which places it around 25 years before TFA. Given that Rey was 19 years old during TFA, Han would have gotten with Qi’ra some time 6 years after Aftermath: Empire’s End.
Would Han do such a thing? Well, he was separated and he may have met up with his first love and the sparks just flew. According to my math, if Han and Qi’ra are the same age, they would be around 44 years old when Rey was born, so I think the scenario is definitely conceivable (pun intended).
Finally, I would like to add that this doesn’t reject the idea that the Force can come from anywhere. I see no evidence that Qi’ra has the Force (not yet at least). Given that Han doesn’t seem to either, then Rey would still be a child with the Force that doesn’t come from a powerful Force-sensitive lineage.
So if you ask me, this theory is pretty exciting, and it makes me more interested in Qi’ra and future Solo films. This kind of connection would be brilliant to get Rey fans more interested in the Solo trilogy (assuming it is completed). To be clear, I’m totally OK with this theory not being true, and Rey’s parents being truly no-names, but I would also think that a big third-act twist like this would be great. What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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