Rey was confirmed as the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but she was almost the descendant of another key Star Wars character, Obi-Wan Kenobi, instead - and that would've been an equally bad decision. Speculation over Rey's parentage was rife long before Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit cinemas, with Daisy Ridley's character being known only as Rey prompting plenty of discussion and theories as to who she might be: A Skywalker? A Solo? A Palpatine, Kenobi, or something else entirely?

2017's The Last Jedi seemingly gave an answer, albeit not one many people expected: Rey is a nobody. With the answer forced out of her by Kylo Ren, it seemed like the truth about Rey was that there wasn't actually all that much truth to reveal, and she wasn't tied to some notable lineage. As with everything else about The Last Jedi, this proved extremely controversial, and The Rise of Skywalker went back on it, turning Rey into the granddaughter of Palpatine, though that sparked its own backlash.

Related: Rey's Parents & REAL Last Name Revealed In Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

Daisy Ridley has confirmed that at one point Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams were toying with the idea of making Rey connected to Obi-Wan Kenobi in some way ahead of The Force Awakens, with the obvious assumption that she would've been his granddaughter. However, while many might prefer the idea to Palpatine given the negative response to that reveal, Obi-Wan being Rey's grandfather would carry all the same issues that The Rise of Skywalker's twist does, because it ignores what made Rey a great character. While there are various problems with the Rey Palpatine decision, the biggest is that it robs the power of being no one from Rey's arc, and thus makes the galaxy feel smaller too.

Star Wars Rey Palpatine Force Lightning

Rey being no one tapped into the broader themes of the Star Wars galaxy; that you didn't need to be from a specific lineage to be strong in the Force, or to rise up and be a hero, but that a young orphan from a desert planet could go on to become the great hope and hero of the galaxy. That's how it started out in 1977, and that's what The Last Jedi harked back to. The Rey Palpatine twist flipped that notion, instead suggesting that, yes, bloodlines do matter in terms of Force power, if not in deciding whether you're good or evil. Switch out Palpatine, a powerful Sith, for Obi-Wan Kenobi, a powerful Jedi, and the situation remains exactly the same - Rey is powerful because of her lineage, rather than Rey simply being powerful because the Force chose her. It continues the focus on nostalgia and trying to connect everything, rather than letting Rey be wholly new, unique character.

Rey being a descendant of Obi-Wan would raise some other problems too. One of the questions left over by The Rise of Skywalker was who Rey's grandmother was, before it was confirmed that both Palpatine and Rey's dad were clones. No such twist could work for Obi-Wan, of course, and although the idea of him having a love interest isn't as disturbing as the image of Palpatine doing it, it would leave some big questions regarding his time as a hermit on Tatooine, which would be the only gap where it could happen. It isn't out of the question that this could be filled in by the Obi-Wan Disney+ show, but it also wouldn't feel right for his character to have had a daughter who wasn't mentioned or even seemingly thought about.

Ultimately, there wasn't a good option in making Rey connected to an existing Star Wars character, even if it's what everyone expected at various points. The saga had already had six movies centered around the Skywalker family, and Rey was a chance to take that and make it into something new. That's why the Rey Skywalker ending is, in theory, a powerful one - the notion of a young woman who comes from nothing and nowhere, but rises to take on the most important and heroic name in the galaxy, is befitting of what Star Wars is and should be about. To make that person a Palpatine or Kenobi, and simply having her transfer from one all-powerful Force name to another, reduces that and dulls the impact of the no one reveal. If Rey were a Kenobi, then it'd be giving her what she wanted too easily: an easy answer to who she is and her place in things. Rey as a no one could've been something great, but J.J. Abrams had other ideas, even if he wasn't always sure which was the right one.

Next: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's Ending Explained (& What Happens Next)