SPECULATION OFFICIAL Rey Discussion Thread

I personally think Rey is the ultimate heroine of the ST, and I have no problem with that. Bring it on.

But then I think about 'Serenity' and the way that was often marketed with River Tam front-and-centre and I think, maybe Rey is more like her? Something central to the plot but not the protagonist, perhaps? So I can see where some of you guys are coming from by questioning who the hero/-ine is. (I hate to admit it, and I expect to be flamed/ignored, but I get a big of Firefly/Serenity vibe from a lot of what we've seen from TFA so far--perhaps too much? Or is that because Firefly did such a good job of capturing the spirit of SW, I don't know..)

But come on, the heroine's Rey, isn't it?....

 

Rey's the main character and her character closes out

Spoiler

the movie with the Lightsaber and Luke Skywalker. Everyone will talking about her, Luke, and the death of Han Solo when this ends.

There is no Firefly/Serenity thing going on. Star Wars Rebels actually started like that but moved beyond the comparisons.

Rey index

 

To all the people speculating on whose daughter Rey happens to be, keep in mind that JJ has stated that the race of Rey and Finn were not a factor in the casting of those characters.

 

What JJ actually said is that they didn't WRITE the characters as any race. Which could mean a number of different things. Context is important, too, as Abrams was trying to mollify a fan who asked about the lack of Asian characters.

It's quite possible they wrote Poe, Rey, and Finn not knowing at the time who would be a Solo/Skywalker, and then they eventually picked who would be so through the casting process.

The casting callbacks Magnar has documented show a preference for Carrie Fisher-like brunettes, which they tried to hide by using the same character description for different roles.

I find it hard to believe Adam Driver's and Daisy Ridley's resemblance to Han and Leia/Padme are coincidental.

Another possibility is that the Skywalker/Solo lineage wasn't assigned in the first draft of the script, but was in the second draft that Mizzlewump claimed to see (much of what he said has come to pass).

 

He was probably trying to say the most PC/least spoilery thing he could think of, in the simplest way possible. What he said was true, from a certain point of view. One or more of these characters were going to be the offspring of Luke or Leia or both. That was probably always in the cards.

 

On the other hand we have statements like

And Luke's monologue in Teaser #2

I like how we went from: everybody is related to nobody is related.

 

I

Considering the film is about "who is Luke Skywalker" and the whole film builds up towards that final moment, why not Let Finn meet him if he is the main character? Simple, because he is not.

 

I'm going to post this on both character threads because I think it needs to be said. It is ok to have an opinion on which character, Rey or Finn, will be the "lead" but let's stop all the bickering about it. In the end both characters are going to be very important to the film and the entire ST and it won't matter who is the "lead". Look at the OT. Luke is considered the "lead" character over Han. Is Han any less important? Is Han any less loved as a character? No. The same thing will happen in the ST no matter whether it is Rey or Finn who is the "lead"

As I said it is perfectly ok to have an opinion and to speculate. Let's not bicker over it. It seems to me that things are starting to get tense here in the Cantina over this topic and there is no need for it to be that way

 

I still believe, that both of them are leads (and Force sensitive on top of that).

 

I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with "lead" characters. The OT and PT revolved around Skywalkers but they each had three main characters with basically equal screen time (less for Padme in ROTS, admittedly).

Rey does not drive the plot, she just gets caught up in it. To justify that, she has to have a purpose, and because of that, it's likely she is a Skywalker/Solo. But that doesn't detract from the significance of Finn. After all, Luke didn't drive the plot of ANH, either. He got caught up in something. Leia's actions put the film into motion, just as Finn's do here. Both are lead characters. Both have arcs. Why the bickering?

 

It's a preference thing, I think. I would rather not get into this argument, though (At least, not intentionally).

 

"Who is the true lead?" devolves the conversation. I'm just looking forward to seeing what JJ/Kasdan/Rian Johnson have written for character progression and arcs for everyone involved. I'm biting my nails already.

 

I agree.
Rey is the main main character in my opinion.

 

Agreed on that note, I've known that for a while since the first trailer.

 

Great post . Here's my take.....this has basically been a one-sided argument from the very beginning. Ever since the filming in Abu Dhabi when it became more evident that the two main characters may be played by the only two main cast members on location for those first days of shooting (Boyega and Ridley), the vast majority of SW fans (and I mean the vast majority that I come across on boards, blogs, twitter, podcasts) decided that it was likely Ridley who was to be the REAL main character. There was only going to be ONE lead and it was going to be her.

From that collection of fans came a splinter group of hardcore Rey fans who wanted to take it a step further by suggesting the next trilogy would revolve around Rey's character in a way that none of the two previous trilogies ever did for a single character. And for this to happen Finn's role would have to take a hit, which was fine with these Rey fans who apparently had little use for him anyway. In their minds he was nothing more than a token of a character in the first place, at best perhaps a spawn of Lando who would be relegated to the same lack of importance to the overall story as Lando had been. When it came to Finn they just started spouting he couldn't be this, he can't be that, blah, blah, blah. It was all about what he shouldn't be. They didn't want him taking ANY attention from their precious Rey. Rey had to be the tough one, the smart one, the best warrior, the most plucky, the most important, the most relevant, the most reliable, the most associated with ties to the past, the most complex. She would never need to be saved but instead would always save Finn. She would be the only of the two to be force sensitive. She would be the lone one to become a jedi. She would be the lone one to have a hero's journey. She alone would have character arcs. She alone would decide the fate of the galaxy. She alone would walk on water all the while inspiring young female viewers for generations to come.

And any time there was any revelation, comment, picture, footage that shone the spotlight on Finn there was an immediate irritable, nonsensical response from Rey fans, making them come across like petulant children. To soothe themselves they would be left to chanting "Rey is the main character" a few hundred times until their agitation was exorcised (okay, I made part of that up).

Let us not be revisionist. The much smaller contingent of fans who lean in favor of Finn have not been as intolerant of the idea of Rey and Finn sharing the wealth. Sure there are some Finn supporters who will take it too far themselves, but it is nothing like those in Rey's corner who act as if they are personally affronted if there's even a suggestion that Finn could be the main lead, an equal co-lead or even just a 1B lead with a strong arc of his own. JJ has never acted as if one of the two was more important than the other. Outside of Ridley's trip to Japan, Disney has never made it out to be that one was more important either. Ridley/Rey and Boyega/Finn have been joined at the hip from the beginning, both on set, offset, at public appearances, etc. Yet to some of the hardcore Rey fans anything less than Rey being clearly above Finn and everyone else is the equivalent of an apocalyptic tragedy. Its been ridiculous. And frankly it has been those fans, some of whom who participate on this board btw, who have poisoned the well within Star Wars fandom. Because those folks were most likely to be dismissive of Finn and Boyega in general, brushing him off as relatively unimportant. And it has gone on forever. If you want such sniping about who is the lead to end, you have to convince those folks to have more of an open mind.

 

I have a few ideas about who Rey might be related to and such...

-daughter of Ezra Bridger, which ties in Rebels
-relative of Obi-wan, niece or something
-relative of Qui-Gon, niece or something
-of course what every one has been speculating, daughter of Han and Leia
-twins with Kylo, Han and Leia their parents
-daughter of just Leia, Han not being the father
-daughter of just Han, Leia not being the mother
-half sister to Poe, Leia being the mother of both, different fathers, Han being her father
-daughter of Luke
-relative to Padme, grand-grand niece or something
-relative to Shmi, 3rd grand niece or something, making her a Skywalker
-not related to anyone

Thoughts anyone? I'd like to hear your comments and whatnot.

 

She has to be related to someone, in my opinion. Abrams said that he wasn't ready to reveal to her or Finn's last names (Which also means he may be related to someone; I'm betting through Zare or his sister, but who knows?), and you don't say something like that for no reason (Unless it's misdirection). But then he also said that neither Rey or Finn were written with a race in mind (Again, could be misdirection, or it could be a matter of interpretation), which muddies things up (Again, it depends on how you interpret the way Abrams said it).

That said, Rey herself (As far as we know) doesn't seem to have that many big moments with either Han or Leia if we go by MSW's outline (Aside from Han giving her his blaster, and being impressed by her skills). With Han's death, it's Chewie and Finn who seem to have bigger reactions to it (Chewie's rage, Finn fighting Kylo to avenge Han). Heck, Rey allegedly seems to desire a family (As seen at 'The Bus Stop' while observing a mother and child) but only has a 'Fond Farewell' with Leia before jumping back onto the Falcon ("Oh hai Mom, nice to see you after all these years... Well, gotta get going to see some hermit! Oh and, btw Dad's dead and your son, my brother killed him.").

Then again, I just like the idea of Rey being Luke's daughter better, so I'm pretty biased *Shrugs*. I think the scene at the end would go better if that was the case, but that's just me. And it also opens up chances to do something with her mother later on, like if she's dead or it's revealed she's still alive but in danger. Who knows! That's the fun in speculation.

I know Rey's parentage can be a very heated argument, so I apologize if I angered anyone.

 

I too like the idea of Rey being Luke's daughter. Always kinda felt bad that Leia turned out to be his sister and just figured he be like Yoda and go to some distant planet and became a hermit. I don't know anything about the EU stories, but I understand he got married so it's possible the same thing happened between ROTJ and TFA.