Main Rey/Daisy Ridley Episode IX thread

Where did these HQ stills come from?

 

It seems that JJ is going to address the apparent disconnect between "your parents are dead in a pauper's gave in the Jakku desert" with the vision of that flying spaceship leaving young Rey behind... I'm glad. A new nugget of info about Rey's background could serve the overall story and her character very well. And no, I'm not necessarily talking about her being the daughter of Luke or any other character we know.

Also, they are marketing Kylo as bad bad super bad... "he refuses to be redeemed", "has ruthless ambition"... then they show Kylo being supercool brutal in the trailer, body slamming that guy. Also we have the Rise of Kylo Ren comic with all those Knights of Ren looking so badass and menacing... and of course, those sith trouper only answering to Kylo and the KOR... I don't know, it's too on the nose, too obvious or something. Are they trying to make Kylo look irredeemable to make his redemption have more impact on the younger audience?

 

JJ has to address the disconnect. It is glaring.

He also has to make Kylo look irredeemable. Up to this point, the two movies have trafficked in his internal conflict. The final chapter has to be moving forward with him in as menacing a way as possible or it wont have the impact it needs to have.

 

The more that I ponder Rey's arc in episode IX, the more I'm reminded of my anticipation of Luke's arc in episode VI. I was eight years old in the Spring of 1983 and I distinctly remembering that the word among kids (at least the ones I knew), was that Luke Skywalker might likely be killed in "Return of the Jedi." Does anyone else have that recollection?

I think that assertion was plausible, at least to us kids at the time, because episode V raised the stakes so much and upended our conventional understanding of how a hero could emerge from a Star Wars movie. The idea of a cliffhanger ending in a feature film was pretty revolutionary at that time, and having one of your heroes end the movie dismembered and the other hero frozen was a pretty shocking way to end an adventure. I think that ending gave us kids a sense that "anything's possible" in these movies, which might have inclined us to believe that Luke Skywalker was going to be killed. I was so fearful of that outcome that I remember during my first viewing of "Return of the Jedi" I had one hand partially covering my eyes for the scenes where Luke seemed to be in mortal danger (first, during the Rancor scene, and again during the confrontations of the third act), just so I wouldn't have to watch him killed.

Maybe I and my friends were just crazy kids back then, but does anyone seem to believe that Rey could realistically be killed in episode IX? I'm not suggesting that she will, but there doesn't seem to be the same high stakes sense that she might.

This fear of the hero's demise was obviously completely absent from the Prequel Trilogy films - we knew Anakin would ultimately succumb to the dark side and obviously live on as Darth Vader. I believe this lack of fear regarding the hero's outcome contributed to the fact that the Prequel Trilogy didn't resonate with audiences to the same extent the Original Trilogy did.

So the Original Trilogy presented it's third act in a way that convinced some audiences that the hero might die. The Prequel Trilogy presented it's third act in a way that convinced audiences that it's hero would fall but not die. The Sequel Trilogy to date has led to tremendous speculation about Rey's past and her future, but I don't know anyone who thinks this trilogy might end with her death.

Do any of you remember talk of Luke dying in VI before it came out the way I do? Do you think the stakes for Rey in IX are meaningfully different than the stakes for Luke in VI?

 

I generally don't post here but this is something I've been thinking as well and, more or less, in the same terms.
Here's the thing: to me, the two key factors in your recollection are "1983" and "kids".

When I say "1983" I specifically mean this: "The idea of a cliffhanger ending in a feature film was pretty revolutionary at that time, and having one of your heroes end the movie dismembered and the other hero frozen was a pretty shocking way to end an adventure."
Yes, it was. It wasn't a an entirely new idea but, for a movie that big and for that kind of adventure, yeah, it was pretty shocking.
And then, 36 year of film-making came and went - and we got TONS of stories like that, hundreds of cliffhanger endings, countless times in which the hero(es) seemed to be in actual mortal danger. And we learned, of course
Are there movies that kill their hero(es)? Of course there are - not this kind of movie, though.

And here comes the "kids" part: while I don't doubt that some people actually believed Luke could die, I promise you that most adults (or people who were "movie-savvy" or even just "narrative-savvy") didn't even entertain the possibility.

If we think in terms of "stakes", the stakes are there: the Resistance is decimated, Kylo Ren is officially established as a narcissistic, murderous psychopath, Rey literally shut the door on his face and he's prone to indiscriminate destruction and murder when things don't go the way he wants and, also, Rey is (like Luke was) the perfect "sacrificial lamb": no family (that we know of), no romantic attachments and a strong drive for self-sacrifice and "doing the right thing".
The bait is there but, almost 40 years later, we don't bite

 

Great points and insights - thanks for the thoughtful reply!

 

As @SickBoy explained very well, we aren't anymore those children of a more innocent time with regards to movie tricks. Now we can say with some degree of confidence that if Rey died in IX it would be pretty damn shocking... My problem with ROTJ, when I saw it in 1983, was that it had no sense of jeopardy. I suppose I was then a girl of 16 starting to appreciate more mature and complicated stories, so I understood I had probably grown out of SW. But a part of me has always felt betrayed by that film, not in that entitled fanboy sort of way, not at all, but rather more figuratively. ANH was made for ten year olds like me, offering that sense of adventure and possibility that has never abandoned us (JJ Abrams has explained that feeling better than anyone). ESB introduced us to the hardships of growing up and all its complications and disappointments, and I suppose my subconscious self (subconscious because I was not aware of this at the time) was that ROTJ would continue immersing me in the world of adulthood, of danger and of successes that come with a cost. ROTJ gave fun moments and amazing ones like Luke removing that Vader mask, but both the stories of Han and Leia and Luke and Leia (that I, as a teenage girl, was understandably very invested on) felt flat and neglected. I suppose Lucas was not interested in exploring the angst of young romance.

I sincerely hope that Lucasfilm honours that side of the story this time around, in some way and to some degree.

 

Similar starship (TFA force flashback versus Rise of Skywalker teaser) but is it the same one? Also: they do change the designs and tweak things from movie to movie and force visions are not 100% accurate i.e. Kylo confronts Rey from behind a snow forest rock with his mask on.

New fan site rumors (discuss under spoiler tags):

Spoiler

https://makingstarwars.net/2019/05/is-han-solo-reys-father/ (May 31, 2019)

https://makingstarwars.net/2019/06/...and-275-galaxys-edge-and-patreon-shenanigans/ (June 4, 2019)

I think it was partially/half correct. Han is Rey's father, but the mother is Leia, not somebody else. Somebody else wouldn't fit the known timeline as Han and Leia were still together 20 years prior as has been pointed out.

https://makingstarwars.net/2019/07/...backstory-in-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker/ (July 30, 2019)


"Vanity Fair reveals Keri Russell as the masked scoundrel Zorri Bliss, seen in the Thieves’ Quarter of the snow-dusted world Kijimi."

Keri Russell: “When I read his script that [J. J. Abrams] wrote I cried. I mean who knows what it will turn out to be and I hope it remains true to what he originally wanted.” “He’s not trying to change [Star Wars] to be something else. He really respects what it is.” “[The character that I play and her look is] bad ass.” “I was like [for wearing a helmet for the character], ‘That is my dream job. I can see everyone. No one can see me. Hello. Amazing!’” “I have such [early] memories of Princess Leia and Chewbacca and Han Solo, I have such memories of them — like everyone does. So, yes, it’s incredible to get to be whatever part I am.” (June 20, 2019) (video) (archive)

 

@MagnarTheGreat ... so how vindicated will you feel when TRoS reveals that Rey always was the "lost princess"?

Spoiler

The daughter of Han Solo, whether her mother is Princess Leia, Qi'Ra or someone else?

I actually really love the idea that Qi'Ra is Rey's mother, largely because of how much I liked "Solo: A Star Wars Story." That film certainly made it seem as though Qi'Ra was his soulmate and not Leia. His relationship with Leia always seemed complicated, but if he was really all these years still pining for Qi'Ra and that lost love, it casts a whole new light on his relationship with Leia, both before and after ROTJ. If he were to come across Qi'Ra again after he had married Leia and she had Ben, but they were estranged even in the slightest, the temptation to reunite with Qi'Ra woudl almost be undeniable. However, he could easily realize he had an obligation to his family and decide to return to Leia... especially if Qi'Ra abandoned him again due to her complicated relationship with the dark side and Darth Maul... and which could also help us understand why Rey ended up on Jakku as she did.

In short, all of this would help me to overcome the instinct that any infidelity to Leia would just cast Han Solo as even more of a post-ROTJ scoundrel. Plenty have complained about the tarnished legacy of the big three if Rey is related, but I feel like this is a way to make it palatable and even understandable... It would also be a nice way to tie in Lando, since he would have known all of that history from "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Furthermore, Qi'Ra's partly dark past creates an interesting depth for Rey as her daughter... so far Rey is nothing but light, but this kind of dark and complicated family history certainly would amp up the conflict for her, not only with her patricidal half-brother, but with the entirety of her family dynamic.

More on this possibility: https://thecantina.starwarsnewsnet.com/index.php?posts/544484/

I say, make it so JJ!

 

I believe that those pages are particularly important: not only a marketing campaign should not be misleading, it should help in setting up the stage of TROS, focusing our attentions to details that are going to play a major role in how the story will unfold.

And in fact, there seems to be a precise logic behind some choices of words and the interpretations of some past events. In addition, the text seems to point out some recurrent themes.

A connection is established since the beginning between Rey and Anakin.

Talented Rey possesses an unusually strong connection to the Force.
Much like the legendary Anakin Skywalker, she is also an expert mechanic and pilot.​

And Anakin/Luke's lightsaber (the Skywlaker's lightsaber) takes a central stage.
Not only the finding of the weapon is considered the moment when Rey's powers "awekenes".

AWEKENING
Rey discovers Luke's lightsaber in an old chest. The awekening she receives is a truth she does not wish to face​

But the text goes on following the story of Rey and the lightsaber as well.

In Maz's castle, a lightsaber that once belonged to Luke and Anakin Skywlaker calls to Rey through the Force.
When Rey touches it, she sees a Force vision and hears voices from beyond the grave.

Rey claims Skywlaker's blade as her own.

After their duel against Snoke's gurds Rey and Kylo grapple for control of Luke Skywlaker's lightsaber, breaking in two. Rey carries the pieces with her to Crait.​

I said many times, that I'd love a bitter sweet ending with all the known Skywalker dead and their legacy passed to other people by virtue and not by blood, but I have 0 problem with Rey related as well.

And in all honesty, this text seems to suggest a personal connection between her and the Skywalkers.
And if there's something more to her backstory (as the text suggests as well) then this backstory must have something personal to do with the Skywalkers.

In short, I don't see anything pointing to her as a creation/relative of Palpatine, or something/someone else and a lot pointing to her as connected to the Skywalkers.

Now, if that's the case, the easer way to go is by making her a grandchild of Anakin just like Ben/Kylo.
It's as simple - an compelling - as that.

The only alternative that fits this narrative is a link between her and the chosen one prophecy, one way or another.
And/or by enstablishing a direct connection between her and Anakin.

In this sense, that line " [she] hears voices from beyond the grave" is... intresting.

Especially if we take into consideration the fact that those visions are a consequence of the lightsaber calling to her.
And the fact (that I've never noticed before) that all those voices from beyond the grave
(therefore those of Obi Wan, Yoda and Palpatine, who are dead by that time) come from people that at different stages were Anakin's masters.
Sure, Luke had the chance to know them as well. But they were all his father masters.

 

There has been a new theory on Rey's mother:

Spoiler: Spoiler

 

Now we know why there's an Evil Kermit

 

I said it first. On this forum 2/3 years ago and - imo - in a better version that avoids Rey becoming a slave with no powers that dies the way Shmi did.

 

According to MSW, via his Instagram Lando knows something "big" regarding Rey arriving on Jakku. I don't have a Instagram, so I don't know the details.

 

@Andrew Waples gah...

I want to know the details!

 

Oh my god, who is this clown?

 

Hmmm, why would Lando know anything about Rey if she's just some random nobody from nowhere who's nothing? I hope there's something to these rumors and they are giving Rey a real backstory.

 

Rey is Anakin .. ironically he’s the one that learned how to cheat death but as in all skywalkers his training was never complete so didn’t know how he’d come back.. watch TFA thinking Rey is reincarnation of Anakin .and TPM with some of the subtleties of how he acted as a boy .. same.. loved the droid, technical, pilot .. and her goggles at beginning of TFA are Vader’s lenses ..

 

Because everybody’s a “somebody,” even if they’re a “nobody” in terms of the Skywalker lineage.