Rey’s parentage in the Star Wars sequel trilogy was a heavy point of discussion from the jump, and the topic has only been debated even more since The Rise of Skywalker revealed that she is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. But upon hearing from Daisy Ridley that Rey almost became a blood relative of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the parentage debate has started up again. And this has sparked some fairly interesting thoughts from fans across the internet.
For the most part, fans’ views on “Rey Kenobi” seem a bit mixed, though there are plenty of people who are fawning over the idea of the young Jedi being Obi-Wan’s daughter. This shouldn’t come as a massive surprise since this was a long-running theory following the release of The Force Awakens. One fan believes that going this route would’ve actually helped to bring the entire Skywalker Saga full circle:
It’s an interesting idea, and Rey (as a Kenobi) saving Kylo Ren (the grandson of Anakin Skywalker) would have been somewhat appropriate when looking at it from that perspective. One fan even took this idea a step further by comparing and contrasting the fateful duels between Rey and Kylo and Anakin and Obi-Wan:
Of course, some may be wondering how Rey could’ve been the child of Obi-Wan Kenobi when the Jedi Master had no wife. Well, fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars no doubt know that he was once romantically involved with Duchess Satine Kryze, the leader of Mandalore. This has led many to assume she could’ve have been Rey’s mother. And some definitely view a Mandalorian Rey as a missed opportunity:
Although there are those who would’ve loved to see Rey Kenobi, there are some who are just fine with her being a descendant of Palpatine. Someone even argued that connecting Rey to another character makes sense in the context of Star Wars lore:
There are many cases within the sprawling Star Wars franchise that characters are connected to one another, but there are those who believe that Rey never needed to be related to anyone. For them, “Rey Nobody” (which Rian Johnson tried to convey in The Last Jedi), would have been just fine:
One of the main reasons why fans would’ve preferred Rey Nobody is that the entire trilogy centered on the character forging her own identity in spite of her past. So a number of fans could honestly care less about who her family is:
It’s incredibly clear to see that fans have put a lot of thought into Rey’s lineage, and there are valid points to be found within all of these takes. While official Star Wars canon will always recognize Rey as the granddaughter of Palpatine, it’s interesting to wonder what could have been had she been the child of the great Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The 9-film Skywalker Saga is currently available to stream on Disney+.
