One of the key selling points of 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the long-awaited return of original trilogy heroes Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess (now General) Leia Organa. However, J.J. Abrams' film was primarily concerned with setting up the story for a new generation of characters to carry the franchise through the sequel trilogy, dedicating most of its time to the arcs of stormtrooper-turned-Resistance fighter Finn, Force-sensitive scavenger Rey, and Dark Side apprentice Kylo Ren. In fact, the movie's title can actually relate to Rey and Kylo from a certain point of view; the former Ben Solo spends Episode VII trying to succumb further into the darkness, while Rey discovers her potential as a would-be Jedi. The Force, for both good and evil purposes, awakens in both of them.
Given how Star Wars 7 ended, anticipation is through the roof for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will not only see Rey learn from Luke Skywalker, but also the possible completion of Kylo Ren's training with Supreme Leader Snoke. Many are excited to see these two back in action, hopefully learning more about their pasts as the story unfolds. Just about everyone has a theory about where Rey comes from, and several fans believe she and Kylo are intertwined somehow, and now the official Star Wars website has lent some credence to that theory.
Kylo Ren's recently-updated entry in the starwars.com Databank covers key events from The Force Awakens, including his capturing of Rey. While brief, the text says, "A mysterious connection seemed to link the two," implying that the two are not just random Force users who crossed paths and actually have a bit of history with each other. As for what that might be will obviously have to wait until The Last Jedi opens (at the earliest), but it's nevertheless interesting that Lucasfilm is revealing this information now, adding much fuel to the fire.
With so little to go off of, fans will have to once again speculate amongst themselves what this connection could be. The obvious one is family, with the likeliest possibility Rey and Kylo Ren are cousins. Though the canon book Bloodline poked some holes in the popular "Rey Skywalker" theories, this Databank entry is the latest piece of evidence to suggest there are ties between the trilogy's main heroine and villain. In The Force Awakens, Kylo responds with a curt "What girl?" when he learns Rey accompanied BB-8 off Jakku, and the film's novelization includes Ren saying, "It is you..." when Rey calls the lightsaber to her on Starkiller base. Additionally, the movie's script hinted that Luke knew who Rey was when they met on Ahch-To, so this seems to be an intricate puzzle the story group is putting together. At the same time, Abrams himself mentioned on the Force Awakens Blu-ray commentary Rey and Kylo Ren never met prior to the film, so this is one confusing mystery.
It will ultimately be quite fascinating to see what all the answers are, and hopefully a majority of them are provided in Episode VIII. Right now, the picture is a little muddled, since there are convincing arguments to be made for and against Rey being a Skywalker. It's worth keeping in mind that the saga films are meant to tell the story of the Skywalkers, and Rey is clearly the main protagonist of this trilogy - to the point where she is next in line to wield the family lightsaber. Sometimes, the simplest answers are the right ones, but Star Wars has surprised audiences with unforeseen twists before. Time will tell what Lucasfilm has in store, but viewers will still have fun generating their own wild hypotheses.
NEXT: Is Rey A Kenobi?
Source: Starwars.com
