Contain your shock: The creators of the new Star Wars trilogy had no idea where the main character’s story line was going as they threw millions into the films. Daisy Ridley hints at this while chatting with brother-from-another-Disney-franchise Josh Gad on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night. “At the beginning, there was toying with like an Obi-Wan connection,” she said. “And then it really went — there were different versions, and then it really went to that she was no one and then it came to Episode IX, and J.J. [Abrams] pitched me the film and was like, ‘Oh yeah, Palpatine is granddaddy.’ And I was like, ‘Awesome.’ And then two weeks later he was like, ‘Or we’re not sure.’” Star Wars fans tore themselves inside out trying to solve the question of Rey’s parentage, starting from the very first trailer. (You know, when they weren’t trying to boycott the film for casting John Boyega.) In Episode VII, The Force Awakens, Abrams emphasized Rey’s connection to her lost parents but Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi makes it seem like she’s no one. Finally, the Rise of Skywalker, directed by Abrams once again, made her Palpatine’s granddaughter for funsies. Fans had scoured the originals and the prequels looking for potential parents. Turns out, the writers were doing the same thing until very last second. The actual possibility of a Rey Kenobi (Rise of Kenobi???) now that we know the rest of the plot has Star Wars fans retconning their original arguments about her parentage. A Kenobi saving a Skywalker from the dark side? It’s the closure we’ve needed since 2005.
