The Last Jedi may not have the last word on Rey in Star Wars

Star Wars: The Last Jedi might not have set everything in stone just yet when it comes to Rey, and that could inspire some mixed feelings.

As someone who’s already written a long defense of why Rey Skywalker is not only possible, but could even be thematically consistent with the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, this news should really come as a balm. As reported by CBR, and ultimately coming from the Huffington Post, Rian Johnson would like us all to know that yes, J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio are totally free to just go “nope, Rey totally is a Skywalker, everyone! Sorry that The Last Jedi made the Internet really angry!” in Star Wars: Episode IX next year. (Yes, it’s officially coming next year now. Yes, we had to double check that.)

Here’s why it doesn’t reassure me on another level. This is something that Dan Selcke of

Winter is Coming and I chatted about in the above video. He brought up the idea that it’s surprising that Lucasfilm wouldn’t dictate such a plot reveal had to go a certain way, and with this news, I’m really starting to agree with him.

Yes, it would probably have interrupted Johnson’s creative process, but … it just seems like it’s a little slapdash for a franchise that is now quite okay with planning ahead in the future for films like Solo: A Star Wars Story or the believed Obi-Wan Kenobi film.

And while, as I said above, I’d really like for Rey to be a Skywalker, I’m just one fan, and I’m also a fan of storytelling. Has Johnson certainly left Abrams and Terrio with a couple of challenges? Yes, and Rey’s one. The roles of Luke and Leia are another. But for the two screenwriters of Episode IX to simply decide that one of those doesn’t necessarily matter has me worried about how exactly they could write around it.

Next: 5 things we want to be erased from Star Wars canon instead of The Last Jedi

Suffice it to say there’s a lot riding on Episode IX now, and the fans have shown that they are more than willing to get loud about their beloved Star Wars. So should some fans get what they want and have Rey be the inheritor of the light side of the Skywalker legacy? Or should Abrams and Terrio stick with what they’ve been given?