SPECULATION Is Luke Rey's Father? - The Evidence For and Against

Why? Because 0.000008% of the audience have seen and remember Hayden Christensen's promo shots?!

 

And let's just say for argument sake that they are the same people taking the photos...have LucasFilm told them about Rey's parentage?

Or are they simply reusing poses that look cool? (As we see repeated for every other Jedi character promo shot)

 

Please provide me with a way that this could have happened:
I.e. How did Han and Leia have a child that they never knew existed or that they would recognise in any way upon meeting her?

I just can't get a clear idea of how she could be a Solo anymore - not with what happens in TFA and the lack of any mention of another child in Bloodline and other canon sources.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 19, 2017, Original Post Date: Feb 19, 2017 ---

I'm just wondering if one piece of obvious information has been overlooked.
In TFA we are introduced to a completely new villain in Snoke. #SnokeIsSnoke
Of course, for the previous 6 films, the villain-in-chief was Palpatine/The Sith.
For me, it made sense that in if you're continuing the Skywalker story then the Sith should be a part of that (bring back Plagueis!).
However, they have gone in a new direction and it seems clear that Snoke is simply another evil mind that has been living in the UNKNOWN REGIONS.
And so, does this change in direction (in terms of where the villainy of the story truly derives from) suggest that they would in fact do the same with the hero-in-chief?
By having Snoke be a completely new character, it separates 1-6 from 7-9 to quite a large extent. Kylo Ren aside, it is a new threat.
Snoke may have known of Palpatine but there doesn't seem to be any kind of close connection.
Thus in this context, would it not make sense that Rey is also a completely new character, unconnected from the previous characters (and films)?
All the whole, the Skywalker's still remain central through the story of Kylo Ren (essentially keeping Darth Vader, Mr Star Wars, at the heart of the saga).

 

I had a bit of an epiphany last night whilst discussing the notion of "the force awakening".
At the beginning of the film we hear from the Tekka that the heart of this trilogy is still about "balance" and that without the Jedi, there cannot be balance.
But before TFA begins and up to a certain point, the Force has been asleep. Dormant. Or more specifically, the cosmic force has.

Essentially, the cosmic force deals with ones destiny. And for some time this element to the Force has been dormant.
Clearly this has been because the ways of the Jedi have been lost to the galaxy. Since the Luke lost his students, no one else has really discovered the Force in a meaningful way. It could be said that Kylo Ren awakened the Dark Side in some way but that no one had yet awakened the opposing side or perhaps, events hadn't occurred that required the cosmic force to awaken.

Then come the events of TFA and we have a situation where a young Force sensitive (though she is unaware of it) accepts the call to adventure in helping find Luke Skywalker. Not only does Rey find herself caught up in this adventure but she willingly helps out those on the "light side" and taps into the power of the Force in doing so. When Rey pilots the falcon for the first time she does things she cannot fully understand. She instinctively used the Force and it is this that awakened the cosmic force. The Force itself, finds its new champion.

So up to this point we have a situation where Dark Forces are rising and balance is being disrupted. This comes to a head in TFA and the Force is actively seeking to "find Luke Skywalker" (much like how events transpired so that Kenobi would know the time was right to train Luke). When Rey joins this quest and uses the Force there is then a reaction by the cosmic force and it provides Rey with her destiny.

This comes from her "force back" vision, courtesy of the Skywalker lightsaber. When you look at the idea of the cosmic force awakening, the whole lightsaber thing makes a load more sense. The lightsaber is now viewed as an object closely connected to the Force - not only because of the journey it has been on but because of the kyber crystal within in. The lightsaber itself becomes a vergence in the Force and this is how Rey's destiny is communicated to her. It wouldn't have made sense for her to have been shown her destiny before this point - she had no Jedi mentor to reveal it (as Luke had with Kenobi) and she came into contact with nothing that would have a connection to the Force. This of course is what Maz realises - that the saber has called to her because her destiny is being revealed and it is telling her to find Luke Skywalker.

So the vision for Rey is all about her destiny being revealed. It shows her past (that she has to let go of). It shows the dark side that she will have to face in the future (Kylo Ren). It shows what has happened to Luke and why she must bring him back. It's all about her being the one destined to find Luke and likely help bring back the Jedi so that balance can be restored.

I'd then find it a bit strange if her destiny to find Luke and her desire to find her parents is part of the same thing. For if she finds Luke and thus her father then really there is nothing else for her to discover. The cosmic force didn't awaken because she is Luke's daughter, it awoke because Rey decided to help Finn and join the quest to find Luke. Her destiny that told her (as Maz confirmed) that she needed to leave behind the belonging she once sought and find a new path going forward. If this is the Force itself speaking to Rey and revealing her destiny, it would be odd if Luke is her father as well. As Maz wisely realises, Rey needs to let go of her desire (to find her family) in order to accept her destiny (to find Luke Skywalker). It's a contradiction.

Also, where does the story go if Luke is Rey's father? If her is then she has fulfilled her destiny and desires. She has found Luke and her father. Where as, if some darker fate has fallen her parents and if she is never to find them (or if they are something that is the opposite to the virtuous Luke Skywalker) then this conflict will remain and be something that could pull her away from her destiny.

I firmly believe that Rey is a "nobody" of dark origins - the polar opposite to Kylo Ren's origins (a "somebody" of light origins who has been seduced by the Dark Side). Ren believes his destiny is to destroy the last Jedi. Rey's destiny is to find and save the last Jedi.