Star Wars: Rey May Not Be Luke's Daughter, But Maybe She is A Skywalker

One of the more interesting facts George Lucas shared in the Star Wars prequels was that Anakin Skywalker had no father.

Instead, assuming we can trust Shmi Skywalker's word for it, he was conceived by The Force -- a sort of space Jesus created to "bring balance to the light and dark side." It was an origin story as implausible as the one for the actual Jesus, but it fits with the mythology of the series which pulls from Christian traditions which it blends with notions pulled from Buddhism and yoga.

Anakin was Shmi's daughter, but Shmi is the same role player that Mary was -- a bit player who simply served as a vessel for destiny.

That brings us to Rey, the hero (or at least co-hero) of the new Star Wars trilogy. When we meet her she appears on an isolated planet without family, aside from a backstory of being dropped off on Jakku by what she presumes (or knows) to be relatives.

Her lineage is not discussed, but she has a strong affinity for The Force and shares Anakin Skywalker's flying ability and his mechanical skills.

She's essentially an older, "Ani," played by a better actor with less obvious rage pushing her toward the dark side.

As we learn in The Force Awakens Rey has a powerful connection to Anakin's pre-Darth Vader Lightsaber which was once wielded by Luke Skywalker. She's also pretty damn good with The Force for someone who has never trained in it.

But, while Luke struggled to learn lightsaber techniques and other Force tactics, we don't really know if Anakin did.

The time jump between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones omits that time period. Basically we see young Anakin as a better-than-he-has-any-right-to-be pilot in Menace, then we jump to him as an impetuous, but very-skilled Jedi in Clones.

This suggests that it's possible that Anakin being created by The Force makes him a more natural user of it than someone who has the latent talent, but needs to be trained in its use.

Luke Skywalker may be very strong with The Force, but he was not created by it, as we know that his birth happened in the normal fashion as a result of the union of Anakin and Padme.

So, what is Rey?
Conventional wisdom suggests that she is either Luke's child or perhaps a grandchild of Obi Wan Kenobi.

The timeline makes the latter unlikely (though possible) while the first simply seems too easy.

There is also some suggestion that she could be another Solo, but it seems odd that Han and Leia -- who know people in all corners of the galaxy -- would abandon their child without supervision on a desert planet.

It is however very clear that Rey is a known quantity to Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. He obviously knew of her existence if not specifically who she is and he's very interested in her when she appears.

That could be because he knows she's his cousin or his sister or it could be because she is the latest incarnation of the prophecy that someone will bring balance to The Force.

In Ren's mind balance likely means the kid of order Darth Vader and the Emperor sought, so his interest could be in luring Rey to the Dark Side or even bringing her into his unique use of both sides of The Force.

Rey has a connection to the Skywalkers, but she may not be Luke's child in the traditional sense.

Perhaps she's another immaculate birth linked to the Skywalkers by Force prophecy. That's not an easy twist to explain of make plausible, but it might be more rewarding if executed properly than an "I am your father revelation from Luke."

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