One of the big mysteries that was introduced inStar Wars: The Force Awakensis whoRey’s parentsare, since Rey was abandoned on the desert planet of Jakku when she was just a young girl. Many have theorized that Rey is actually Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) daughter, which was given more credence recently when a video surfaced that compared one of the songs onJohn Williams' score with his previous work. This theory from a YouTube user claims that Rey is Darth Vader’s granddaughter and Luke Skywalker’s daughter, after recognizing similarities in the music for all three characters in this new movie and in the original trilogy. As it turns out, though, it seems theStar Warscomposer wasn’t even let in on this mystery himself, whileThe Force Awakenseditor,Maryann Brandoneven hinted thatJ.J. Abramshimself doesn’t know.
As forJohn Williams, the musician recently said that he never even askedJ.J. Abramswho Rey’s father is, which essentially shoots down this musical theory.Indie Revolvercaught up with the composer after he performed at the Boston Pops over the weekend, where he revealed thatJ.J. Abramshasn’t even told him who Rey’s father is, although he did venture a guess. Here’s what the musician had to say below.
“I never askedJ.J. AbramswhoRey’s father is, but I think it’sLuke Skywalker. Your guess is as good as mine, though.”
It seems those similar musical cues were only coincidental, unless, of course,John Williamswas playing coy with the press, but we don’t know for sure. It’s also possible that the composer was simply using these cues to convey emotions like anger, mirroring theDark Side of the Force, while not hinting that Rey could be related to Darth Vader. On the other side of the country, another key member of theStar Warsteam shared her thoughts about Rey’s parentage, although it seems she doesn’t know the whole truth either. EditorMaryann Brandonappeared at a special screening of the movie at UC-Santa Barbara’s Pollock Theater, where she revealed thatJ.J. Abramshasn’t told her who Rey’s parents are, while adding that she doesn’t think the filmmaker even knows himself.
“I actually don’t know. I am not even sure that they know.J.J. AbramsandLawrence Kasdanweren’t talking about it. They shifted back and forth and they haven’t talked about it. Your guess is as good as mine. In some films that are serialized we change things all the time. We start with one intention and suddenly, you know what, scrap that idea, let’s change who everyone is.”
All we know for sure is that Rey’s parents left her on Jakku, with junk dealer Unkar Plutt (Simon Pegg) watching over her covertly in the intervening years before the events ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens. We don’t know for sure if the mystery surrounding Rey’s parentage will be solved inStar Wars 8, which is currently shooting in the U.K. under the direction ofRian Johnson. While we wait for more details about this sequel, take a look at the video below, which outlines theJohn Williamsmusical theory about Rey’s parents, that was just debunked.
