POTENTIAL SPOILERS FROM STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS BELOW.

Rey’s staff has been the source of speculation for a long time now. Speculation is fun and I don’t see anything wrong with it, but here does come a time when a pet theory becomes an obsession and the source for bitter hatred. A little bit of context for the weapon is needed–every day just about, I am asked about the staff she carries (when people aren’t asking me about trailer rumors).



The thing is that Rey isn’t in a good place on Jakku according to sources. As we have recently learned from Randy, Rey is on Jakku because her parents dropped her off and she has remained there, hoping all this time that they would pick her up. Should she leave, the chances of her family finding her again seem small. In case it isn’t clear, Jakku is not a good place. Rey isn’t having T-16 races with her mustachioed friends for fun. Life is hard. Life on Jakku is harder.

Apparently, everyone on the lawless world of Jakku is somewhat beholden to Unkar Plutt. Plutt is a kingpin of thugs who uses his power to the fullest extent. He is the worst capitalist in the Star Wars saga. Supply and demand is simply an excuse to exploit people for Plutt as he controls the water supply (a very valuable commodity on a desert planet). People owe their lives to him on credit alone just so they can subsist. Junkers and scavengers are forced to hand over their most precious materials just for a steady water resource to survive and he never pays anywhere near full price for anything he buys. People like Rey work for a drink of water and getting ahead is not really something she can afford to do on Jakku under such circumstances. Plutt is fine with making fuel for scavenging affordable as it brings him more money, but life on Jakku is not far off from slavery for Rey. She works for Plutt or she dies.

All of this brings me to “The Staff of Darth Plagueis.” Rey doesn’t own it or anything like it. From what I’ve heard, Rey has the staff because it is all she can afford. It is the common weapon of the scavenger types. Weapons are expensive and everything Rey has, from her house (inoperable AT-AT) to her speeder, are things she’s found on Jakku’s battlefield graveyards. Because of the time that has gone by since the Battle of Jakku, even the majority of guns she has managed to find aren’t in actual working order. So Rey has a staff and there’s nothing special about it. It is the common weapon on Jakku. I’ve heard the handgun she possesses might be for show and not even work as well, but that’s not entirely confirmed yet.

So there you have it. From what we have heard, the staff Rey wields has no great story attached to it other than one of poverty. It is the weapon you use when you’re stuck working for slime. There is no legacy of the Dark Side attached to the weapon she holds in her hands. Rey simply hopes she can get by each day. Without any real friends, she lives a lonely life until she meets a special little friend one day that changes her life forever.