Another look at Dark Rey is revealed in Star Wars concept art. Though The Rise of Skywalker has long since come and gone from theaters, it still remains a popular talking point for Star Wars fans with drastically different opinions. The ambitious and enormous finale to the Skywalker saga as well as to the sequel trilogy, J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a must-see for all Star Wars fans. Though it is at times heartbreaking and shocking, Rise of Skywalker takes chances that other Star Wars films haven’t, and it’s likely for this reason why it’s been so divisive.
One of the biggest reveals of the film deals with the truth about Rey, and more specifically that she is the granddaughter of Palpatine. While some might argue that tying a central Star Wars protagonist to the Dark Side of the Force was done decades earlier in the original trilogy, discovering the truth about Rey still came as a major surprise for many. In fact, the idea that Rey has a potential evil side to her has now kicked off speculation as to how this history will affect future installments of the franchise.
The idea that Rey’s family history could deeply affect her character was actually taking place well before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker even became a film. Ideas about how Rey’s past could characterize her present were part of the film’s extensive pre-production and even made it into concept drawings. Most recently, concept artist Adam Brockbank shared an early bit of art that he did for Rey. The drawing can be seen below, with the Dark Side influencing Rey’s physical appearance as well as her attire:
Rey’s Gothic-like appearance in the drawing does seem to suit her, and there’s sure to be a certain percentage of fans that will prefer this version of the character. There’s no question that she appears irredeemably evil in the concept art, arguably making her far more interesting as an antagonist than any sort of hero. It’s strange to see the character in this light, and fans might question why Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker didn’t bother to add at least some element of Rey giving in to the Dark Side to the film itself. Then again, one of the main criticisms of the film is that it took too much on and couldn’t properly deliver on all of it. Adding a plot point in which Rey perhaps briefly gave in to the Dark Side was likely far too great of a detour for the film.
On one hand, it is in some ways unfortunate that fans never did get the chance to see Rey fully give in to the lure of the Dark Side. Had it come earlier on in the trilogy, things would have been far more different than how they ended up. What’s more, Star Wars fans would have been given the opportunity to see something they surely couldn’t have been expecting. But, of course, having the protagonist focus on evil rather than good was covered in the prequels, and the end results are still being picked apart by fans and critics to this day.
Source: Adam Brockbank