'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Theory Posits Identity of Rey's Mother

While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may potentially reveal who is Rey’s biological father, the jury is still out on the identity of her mother.

Warning: Possible Star Wars spoilers ahead.

But Jason Ward, of the Making Star Wars podcast, suggests that Rey’s mother is definitely not Keri Russell’s new character, Zorri Bliss. Some fans already have an idea that Rey’s mom could be Qi’ra from Solo: A Star Wars Story, and a new theory posits it’s her Darth Maul connection in Solo that cinches her relation to Rey.

Rey’s parentage is all speculation at this point, and there’s been no confirmation or evidence to suggest how big of a role it may or may not play in The Rise of Skywalker. However, with the idea that Rey’s true father could be Han Solo himself, then the identity of the mother would have to be someone we already know, right? Redditor u/lovegodherselfs theorizes that Qi’ra will ultimately be revealed as Rey’s mother and presents evidence to back it up.

“When [Darth Maul] told her they would be working closely for now on, he did it specifically when he ignited her lightsaber,” writes u/lovegodherselfs. “And that fight scene with her killing Dryden? She definitely could be force sensitive.”

If we don’t look too closely at the chronology of events (and let’s be honest, there’s enough flexibility in the timeline for this to be explained), then Qi’ra being Rey’s mom makes sense. The fact that she was also revealed to have been working with Darth Maul, along with her battle with Dryden, suggests she is Force sensitive. Since we know Han to be Force sensitive as well, it would explain how Rey came to inherit her abilities.

Ward also mentioned on the podcast that Lando knows the identity of Rey’s mother and reveals that information to Poe and Finn. How else would Lando know who she is if it’s someone besides Qi’ra? The pair knew each other and interacted a fair amount in Solo, and if The Rise of Skywalker wants to make the reveal that much more dramatic, then they’d obviously go for someone the audience is already familiar with.

This might be a hard theory for some fans to digest, though, especially considering how attached we’ve become to Han and Leia Organa as a couple. Objectively, this storyline may have been set up all the way back in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. After all, Han and Leia were already broken up and had been for a considerable amount of time by that point. So there’s no telling when the beloved couple could have split up and whether or not Han went back to Qi’ra afterward.

Of course, this theory only works under the pretense that The Rise of Skywalker will broach the subject at all. If it does, then this is a route that makes the most sense and could make Solo far more relevant to the new trilogy. If the theory proves to be true, then it’s safe to assume Rey wasn’t raised by Qi’ra (and she definitely wasn’t raised by Han). Therefore, Rian Johnson’s vision for Rey’s parentage in Star Wars: The Last Jedi remains intact despite J.J. Abrams’ interpretation.

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