

This goes without saying, but spoilers will abound in this post. If you have not seen The Force Awakens yet, please do so. It’s well worth your time, and reading these theories will ruin an excellent film for you.

Several theories have been proposed by fans since The Force Awakens hit theatres. Of course, many of these theories existed prior to anyone having seen the film, but seeing it has stoked the flames of many theories, and has even kindled new ones. Little was answered, and plenty of questions have been raised. Let’s dive right in to the top ten Star Wars theories.

1. Rey is Luke Skywalker’s daughter

One of the most instant reactions many fans had to the Force Awakens was the notion that Rey is Luke’s daughter. Her story parallels Luke’s hero journey. She has a remarkable affinity to the Force. She is called to Luke’s lightsaber (which also happens to be the same lightsaber Anakin had in RotS). The film alludes to the notion that she’s Luke’s daughter when she places an X-Wing fighter helmet on, and we even see that she’s created a Rebel pilot doll. She even dreams of an island in the middle of an ocean!

It’s assumed Han, Leia, Kylo and now Maz know about her heritage, but nobody reveals it to her. When Maz Kanata asks Han who the girl is, the scene cuts elsewhere. Leia, someone who’s never met Rey before, gives her a hug after the Resistance returns from Starkiller Base instead of Chewbacca (which is honestly just poor writing, but it does infer she knows who Rey is).

But the most telling reason many assume Luke is Rey’s father, is this: Leia has been searching for Luke for years. When she finally gets the full map from BB-8 & R2 as to his location, whom should she send but herself to retrieve him? Leia is, after all, his closest relative, and most qualified to bring him home… Unless she isn’t. What if there were someone more qualified than even her? What if Rey, a girl whom she just met, had a tie to Luke Skywalker? And whom better to tell her than he? The Episodic films were always about the legacy of the Skywalker line, after all.

Probability: 9/10

2. Rey is related to Obi-Wan Kenobi

This is a surprisingly prevalent theory amongst fans. What if Obi-Wan had a child, while in hiding for 20 years, who eventually passed life along to Rey? It’s intriguing, and if true would be an incredible twist.

In her Force vision (upon touching Luke’s lightsaber) you can hear a mix of Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor say “Rey, these are your first steps,” which is similar to something Obi-Wan told Luke in A New Hope. Its also noteworthy that she dresses similar to the Prequel Obi-Wan, and carries a similar British accent to the Jedi Master. One of her more adept Force skills, the Jedi Mind Trick, was a favorite of Obi-Wan’s.

The greatest belying proof that this is the case is the simple lack of any concrete evidence. Also, when it comes to the Force vision, you also hear Frank Oz reprising his role of Yoda, as well as Luke screaming “NOOO!” on Bespin. Can they all be her father?

Probability: 7/10

3. Rey is Leia/Han’s daughter

This one is a bit silly to hold onto at this point. The line of reasoning here is that Kylo Ren, Han, and Leia presumably know more about her than she does, as pointed out in theory 1. It’s pretty clear Kylo Ren has absolutely no intention of killing her either, something I’ll touch upon in theory 6, but this is grasping at straws.

She’s the main character in a new series of films and has a large corresponding arc with Han Solo himself. Besides showing her some kindness on her work with the Falcon, there is no father/daughter moment. The writers would have made it even more heartbreaking for Rey when Han died, had they been directly related. If she is, though, that would be a really anticlimactic reveal in the next few films – and her whole purpose to find her family would have all been for naught.

And then, of course, after Han sees Kylo Ren take Rey away, he tells Leia “I saw our son!” But there is no mention from him of a daughter. But she does know her way around the Millenium Falcon…

Probability: 2/10

4. Finn is Lando Calrissian’s son

John Boyega is a black actor, and has thus been associated with anyone else in the galaxy far, far away with dark skin. This includes Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu (and even Sana Starros). No proof for either has been forthcoming, but there’s technically a higher likelihood that Lando has unknown offspring instead of Mace Windu, a Jedi Master and propitiator of the tenet that love was forbidden amongst the Jedi.

FN-2187, or Finn, was taken from whomever his parents were at birth by the First Order and raised as a stormtrooper. It’s understood that he doesn’t know where he comes from, but it can be inferred that Maz Kanata does, as she’s “seen the same eyes in different people.” And Maz has likely met Lando on many occasions prior.

To put fuel to that fire is the rumor that Billy Dee Williams will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian in Episode VIII. The actor hasn’t admitted to this, but at the Red Carpet premiere for The Force Awakens he seemed awfully devilish when asked if he’d return.

Probability: 4/10

5. Luke Skywalker is standing at a gravesite

Some fans have noted that at the very end of the film, when Luke Skywalker is standing at the top of the island, it appears as though a thin slab of stone is erected nearly 1-2 yards in front of him. This has led many to believe he is standing at a gravestone. It appears makeshift and quickly put together. This has been theorized as a nod to his significant other, who likely perished along with the other Jedi that were killed. It could also likely be erected for the purposes of recognizing the original founders of the first Jedi Temple. It could be memorializing those who died in the Hosnian System after the First Order blew up all those Core Worlds. And still, it could be a nod to his recently lost friend, Han Solo.

Skeptics have made mention that this scene was filmed on Skellig Michael, and all structures you see in the film exist in real life as they were built by monks long ago. That said, a bird’s eye view of the location shows no sign of the raised/protruding slab of stone that we glimpse briefly in the film.

Probability: 9/10

6. Kylo Ren kept Rey hidden on Jakku

We’ve established that Kylo Ren wanted to keep Rey alive. In their lightsaber battle, he even offers her the opportunity to train under him. We can infer that he knows who she is, as he freaks out when he finds out that FN-2187 and the droid were aided by “a girl.”

Also note that when Rey has her Force vision, there is a moment when she is face down on the ground and she looks up to find a Knight of Ren attempting to bludgeon her. This person is promptly killed as Kylo Ren’s saber pierces through him – presumably sparing her life. Although this is a thin theory, it would be an interesting twist if Kylo Ren put her on the planet to keep her out of Snoke’s grasp, or something along those lines.

The only direct evidence against such a proposal is that Max Von Sydow’s character, Lor San Tekka, is rumored to be protecting her in a similar fashion to Old Ben protecting Luke from afar. That said, his placement on the planet Jakku could be entirely coincidental. In fact, that entire village in the beginning of The Force Awakens is a group of Force worshipping individuals known as the Church of the Force, so it’s very likely to be coincidental.

Probability: 7/10

7. Supreme Leader Snoke is Darth Plagueis

We know very little about Snoke, beyond the holographic image we see of him. Likewise, we know very little about Darth Sidious’ master, Darth Plagueis, at least within the current canon. According to Sidious, though, Plagueis became so powerful in the Dark Side he was even able to cheat death. That said, Sidious apparently killed him.

Notice that Snoke appears quite feeble, despite his exaggerated holographic size, even carrying a particularly nasty scar on his face which could be from a lightsaber wound. That scar could have come from anywhere. Could have been Luke. This theory states it might actually have been Sidious himself. But Plagueis, powerful Sith Lord that he was, is able to endure.

More on this, the novelization of The Force Awakens tells us that he’s been around long before even the Empire ruled the galaxy, and that Kylo Ren isn’t his first student. Even John Williams score evokes the same kind of chant during the Snoke scenes that the tale of Darth Plagueis scene in RotS had.

Probability: 8/10

Another interesting sub-theory states that, if Snoke is Plagueis, what if his way of cheating death isn’t necessarily the immortality of the flesh, but by pushing his Force ghost into another living host. When Snoke tells Hux to bring Kylo Ren to him to finish his training, what if he’s simply training a young body in the ways of the Force so that he can inhabit it and continue to live on? The novel also goes into greater depth as far as the warrior that Kylo Ren is being shaped into, which is that of one who can be a powerful bridge between both Light and Dark Side powers.

Probability: 6/10

8. Kylo Ren is a double-agent

Similar to Severus Snape, fans have drawn attention to the incredible conflict within the character. This theory insists that Kylo Ren is actually a double-agent, infiltrating the Dark Side ranks to help take down Snoke from the inside. As crazy as it sounds, it is the only conceivable way the character will be redeemable down the line. The theory insists that Luke is in on it as well, and is willing to forego the loss of a few hundred to save the lives of millions more.

Kylo Ren would have to completely hide his affinity with the Light. The novelization claims he is worried that Snoke will sense his being drawn to the Light. Even the murder of his father is a test he must pass in order to gain Snoke’s favor. The line in which Rey says “You’re afraid you’re not as strong as Darth Vader,” could mean he’s worried that he won’t have the strength to defeat his Master when the time comes, finishing what he started.

If this theory proves true, they’d have to pull it off with finesse, because it would be difficult winning back an audience after what he’s pulled. It’s just crazy enough that I like it.

Probability: 5/10

9. Rey’s memory has been wiped

Many have theorized, probably correctly, that her memory has been purposely wiped for her own safety. She waits for a family that she doesn’t seem to truly recall. She runs from her destiny upon getting that Force vision, which is likely a glimpse of both past and future. She appears to already be trained in the Force to some degree, perhaps by Luke himself, but was subsequently placed into hiding on Jakku and hasn’t been using the Force since. Either that, or she just randomly learned to combat Kylo’s Force probing, learned to use Jedi mind tricks, and learned levitation really quickly.

Although other characters appear to know her lineage, she doesn’t show any sign that she remembers. She makes no personal connection when Han introduces himself, beyond the legends she’s heard. This theory makes the most sense, as there is nothing holding it back, and all evidence corroborates with it. It’s doubtful that she forgot, because in her Force vision we see a young Rey being left on Jakku – but not young enough to have literally forgotten everything – especially noting that she is waiting for her family to come back. What she remembers of her family? The film leads us to assume she remembers nothing but the fact that they will come back at some point.

Probability: 9.5/10

10. Rey is a child of the Force

Remember little Annie? The Force apparently conceived life into Anakin Skywalker through Shmi, a slave on Tatooine. Because Rey is so inherently strong with the Force, she is assumed by some to be birthed similarly to Anakin.

Rey’s entire story arc revolves around the idea that she is waiting for her family and/or will have to seatch them out. Will she just forget about it when the time comes for her to find out she is basically just another chosen nobody? It’s contrary to who she is and her entire purpose.

I might remind those fans that they weren’t particularly thrilled by the obvious messiah parallels during the prequel trilogy, and I don’t think Abrams or Lucasfilm will want to continue down that path a second. But it is technically a possibility, and it does tie in neatly with the prequels, something the new movie notably did not try to accomplish.

Probability: 3/10

Did I miss any of the top Star Wars theories? These are the top ten Star Wars theories I’ve found. Do you have a big theory you’d like to share? Leave a comment below.