Dark Rey Theory Posits She's a Clone Creation of Palpatine
“She looks very evil …."
by Mae AbdulbakiNew footage for the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuted at Disney’s D23 Expo this weekend, and fans were excited and surprised to see that Rey may be joining the Dark Side.
In the new trailer footage — released to the public on Monday and viewable above — Rey is wearing a dark robe and is wielding a double-edged red lightsaber that she snaps to make longer. Now, we all know that Rey’s lightsaber is actually blue and she’s seen holding both in the trailer, though not at the same time. With this turn of events, a fascinating new theory suggests that Dark Rey is actually a clone.
It’s important to note that the idea of Rey being a clone isn’t new: Many fans have speculated that Rey is a clone of Anakin and that the title Rise of Skywalker pertains to her. However, it’s always been somewhat of a long shot considering that Rey is a woman and clones are usually exact replicas—in this case, she’d have to have been a copy of Anakin. However, now that we have evidence that Rey might actually flirt with the Dark side in Episode IX, the idea that she could be a clone is back on the table, though obviously in a different capacity.
Dark Rey appears in the D23 trailer for 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'.
Redditor u/YahYahY posits a crazy theory about the Sith Troopers basically being Rey clones and how her vision in Star Wars: The Last Jedi was actually not foreseeing the future, but hinting at her history. That sounds plausible, right? Well, the theory gets even weirder after that.
“Palpatine created an army of clones of Rey, and Rey is the one that escaped and was left by a protector (Zorri?) on Jakku to hide her,” they write.
That’s a lot to unpack.
We’re not saying that Palpatine couldn’t have created a bunch of Rey clones.
After all, we don’t know what’s underneath the masks, so the Sith Troopers could actually be a bunch of soldier Reys. Palpatine does need an army, right?
Regardless of whether or not Palpatine’s actually involved, though, we can all agree that Dark Rey might be a fake-out.
Could she be a double agent of sorts, turning to the Dark side to trick Palpatine or even Kylo? It’s not impossible.
Dark Rey looks lethal. And what's that ring she's wearing?
"She looks very evil …. It’s a mad plot point for the movie, so, you know, bringing out all the cards on this one.
Speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, John Boyega chimes into the debate on Rey going dark. “She looks very evil …. It’s a mad plot point for the movie, so, you know, bringing out all the cards on this one.”
The fact that he said that her going dark is a “mad plot point” certainly implies that it’s not permanent. Perhaps Rey is a clone or she’s pretending to have gone to the Dark side to win Kylo or Palpatine’s trust. Either way, it’s safe to say that there has to be a logical reason for Rey becoming evil and the possibility of her being a clone is just one explanation.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20, 2019.
