Chris Terrio Discusses Rey’s Lineage in The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Last Jedi stirred up quite the hornets nest when it decided to reveal the lineage of Rey as something other than a Skywalker or Kenobi. Some fans took the mystery set up by J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens to heart and were ultimately dismayed at the answer presented. Said fans need not worry, because it looks like The Rise of Skywalker may offer a course correction (of sorts) — however needless it may be. At least, that’s the message gleaned from writer Chris Terrio who discussed the matter in an interview with Rolling Stone.

“That’s a really interesting thing that Rian did,” Terrior said. “It’s a democratization of Star Wars, saying that your lineage and your blood doesn’t necessarily determine who you are, and your past doesn’t determine your future. But we took those provocations as ideas that we could grapple with and hopefully expand upon in this film, because I don’t think it’s a dialectic of one or the other, where either you come from nothing or you are born royalty. There’s a lot of ground in between.”

Terrio went on to explain that Kylo Ren’s terminology may have been more of a “certain point of view” scenario. Perhaps Rey’s parents were indeed nothing more than junkies in Ren’s eyes, but would actually be special in Rey’s.

“I’m trying not to reveal any story points here,” Terrio said. “There’s a Gordian knot in my tongue. I think those are really valid ideas that Rian put forth, but any series of films, especially if you have three, is a conversation — which is, as I said early on when I was talking to J.J., thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. If Force Awakens asks the question of who is Rey and where did she come from, and then The Last Jedi answered it with a negative in a certain way, hopefully The Rise of Skywalker will take those two ideas and create a third thing.”

Do you agree? Is it necessary for Rey to discover her parents at all? Let us know (politely) in the comments below.

Returning cast members for The Rise of Skywalker include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast are Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings), and Keri Russell (The Americans), who will also be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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In addition to directing, Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League). Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and Abrams will produce, with Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin executive producing. Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is scheduled for release on December 20.