'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' Rumors: 5 Legit Options for Rey's Mother

A new rumor suggests that Rey’s “real” dad might be Han Solo. This rumor comes from both Reddit and Jason Ward at Making Star Wars, but even he isn’t sure it’s totally legit. The way the rumor goes is like this: Han is Rey’s dad, but Rey had a different mom because Han had an affair while he and Leia were estranged. Is the rumor true? Who knows, but if there is any truth to it at all, then it brings up a much more pressing question: Who is Rey’s mom?

Speculative spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker ahead.

The debate about Rey’s parents wasn’t actually that big of a deal in December of 2015 .when Force Awakens first released. Then, sometime in 2016 (maybe when the theory that Jyn Erso was Rey’s mom started getting floated) two narratives emerged: either Rey was a Skywalker and that was fie, or Rey could not be a Skywalker because that would be cheap and lame boring storytelling. (There was also the Rey Kenobi camp, but we’ve all forgotten about that quickly, too, haven’t we?)

The point is, though The Last Jedi should have ended this debate, things oddly got worse because the person who told Rey the “truth” about her parents is an unreliable narrator, and someone who, you know, killed his own father. Then, things get even harder to deal with because J.J. Abrams swooped in to to direct Episode IX (which was not Disney’s original plan) and put the word “Skywalker” is in the title. There are also still rumblings that Abrams had a different plan for Rey’s background than what Rian Johnson did.

At this point, the whole situation is nuts, and let’s face, it if Abrams messes with what happened in The Last Jedi even a little bit, it can’t possibly make everyone happy.

Even so, it’s starting to look more possible that Rey’s parents could be more important than Kylo Ren claimed. So if Rey’s dad is Han Solo, who is her mom? Here are five possibilities ranked by actual, realistic likelihood; meaning, if you think about these seriously, from a certain perspective each of these choices would “work” with the Kylo Ren reveal from The Last Jedi, add a twist to the story, and, most importantly, not piss off every single fan on the planet.

5. Mara Jade (or someone similar, married to Luke)

I know, I know, I know. How could I suggest the non-canon wife of Luke Skywalker – Mara Jade Skywalker — secretly be Rey’s mom? Easy, if Luke did have a wife after Return of the Jedi, that person could have totally have had a child from a previous marriage/relationship before getting married to Luke. Who knows, this version of “Mara Jade” may have thought her daughter was dead, when in fact, that daughter was captured. This explanation could give Rey some Jedi-blood, but not have her related to the Skywalkers.

4. Qi’ra

This works with or without Han Solo being the father. Everyone loves Emilia Clarke (even if they’re mad about Game of Thrones) and the character could have done all sorts of stuff after her appearance in Solo.

Plus, because Qi’ra has ties to the underworld. So the idea that she was a low-life criminal could check-out with Kylo Ren’s story about Rey’s parents being “filthy junk traders.” Qi’ra was great at disguising herself in Solo, and the idea that she would give up her daughter to protect that child from a life of crime kind of makes sense.

3. A “nobody”

So, mabye Kylo Ren was telling the truth! Maybe we will NEVER FIND OUT WHO REY’S PARENTS REALLY WERE. This would be the easiest route, which is why its third most likely to actually happen. Star Wars is a simple concept, but the writing of the saga makes things complicated.

2. Qui-Gon Jinn’s granddaughter (or the daughter of another dead Jedi)

Oh shit! Forget Rey Kenobi, what about Rey Jinn!!!? Yeah, you didn’t see that one coming, did you? All kidding aside, the idea that Rey’s lineage could be linked to the Jedi who begins the whole saga in The Phantom Menace isn’t that ridiculous. Qui-Gon was known to go against the council about a ton of stuff so much so that Obi-Wan Kenobi even says, “Don’t defy the council master, NOT AGAIN.” Could Qui-Gon Jinn have taken a lover at some point before Episode I? Could he have accidentally started a line a Force-users that he wasn’t even aware of?

Even if you hate this idea, you have to admit that having Rey be the granddaughter or daughter of another deceased Jedi works pretty well, even without the Qui-Gon connection.

1. Zorri Bliss

The new bounty hunter/scoundrel character played by Keri Russell wears a mask in all the promotional images for The Rise of Skywalker. Other than the fact that it’s Rusell behind that maks, here’s what we know about Zorri Bliss: she hangs out in something called “The Thieves’ Quarter” on the planet Kijimi. That’s it! If Rey’s mom was a criminal, maybe she didn’t die at all? Maybe she just assumed a new name and now goes by Zorri Bliss. Even better, what if Rey’s last name is really Bliss! That sounds good to me.

So, let’s get real. Zorri Bliss is probably Rey’s mom. I don’t know if her dad is Han Solo, but I am willing to place bets on this. Aren’t you? J.J. Abrams has said that we will find out “more” about Rey’s family in The Rise of Skywalker. Keri Russell looks convincingly enough like Daisy Ridley to be her mom, plus, she’s the right age. Best of all, the fact that she’s a criminal behind a mask means that the Kylo Ren story of Rey’s parents being shady still checks out. Hold onto your butts and get ready for a Bliss family reunion coming in The Rise of the Blissful Skywalkers!!!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20, 2019.