Join Jason and Randy for two action packed episodes of Now, This is Podcasting! In this episode we discuss Jason going to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland in Anaheim. In the second episode they discuss the park with their friend Jerry and talk about a Patreon episode of NTIP where an industry rumor was discussed that made it out to Reddit and got way out of hand.





Here is a text version of the rumor that made its way around this week.

Spoiler Warning: Please do not openly share the contents of this article on social media and spoil anyone that does not wish to be spoiled. Everyone has a different view regarding what constitutes a spoiler. Be cool and be careful. You have been warned. Also, please do not implicate me in your online social faux pas.

The Disclaimer

This rumor ties into real spoilers from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The fact Lucasfilm people have commented on the rumor means it is likely not accurate at all. This text version was to clarify the actual rumor going around which itself was misreported often.

The Short Version of the Rumor:

The essence of the rumor is this: Han Solo is in fact Rey’s father and the mother is not Leia Organa. Leia and Han were estranged when she and Luke began Leia’s training. When she did not complete that training she returned to Han Solo and their floundering relationship reconnected for a time but Ben knowing what happened was troubled, acting out, and sent to train with Luke Skywalker.

The rumor is not clear if Leia knows about Han’s fling or the child. It also is not clear exactly what Han even knows or if Han even knows the child he had on the side is Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, Pinewood rumors I have heard over the last year make me think Han and his best friend knew about a child the whole time.

That Pinewood “Jordan Set Rumor” keeps a coming:

The rumor from Pinewood is that a moment was filmed with Lando Calrissian informing Finn and Poe about Rey’s half brother and father. While both Poe and Finn are shocked, Finn is especially shocked. I don’t believe this moment is the reveal itself but rather the moment where those two characters are caught up. So the takeaway is that Lando knows about the encounter and the resulting child which means Han likely knows unless Lando was friends with Rey’s mother or something.

Ben Solo’s State if the rumor is accurate:

If Ben Solo did in fact know that his father had a secret child with a woman, it might explain why Kylo tells Solo he would only disappoint her too. If Leia doesn’t know about the encounter and the baby and Ben Solo does, you can see why the boy would have a lot of animosity towards his father. It doesn’t justify killing him but it does make us kind of understand the passionate rage that would make him want to.

if Ben feels abandoned by Leia who went off to explore the possibility of training with her brother, that would also lead to feelings of high resent for Ben towards both of his parents and perhaps why he never unloaded the secret to his mother (if he doesn’t). But if Leia returns and then promptly sends him to Uncle Skywalker, he’s going to feel like he’s unwanted and she would rather he be anywhere she isn’t. Then shortly after that you have Uncle Skywalker in a moment of weakness understanding the vision he and Leia to be Ben and not her, considers killing him in his sleep. I can see why Ben would side with Snoke over The Solo-Skywalker family.

This makes the patricide element of Ben and Han Solo pretty interesting. Originally, it was Luke Skywalker who set out on the quest to kill his father but he couldn’t’ do it. Ben as Kylo Ren did kill him. Kylo’s like The Boy Named Sue inside, he feels humiliated by his cowboy father that’s pretty much worthless to him. I would imagine being alone with Solo, as was implied in some of the supplemental fiction.

We can also theorize about who did kill the people Rey saw as her family. It seemed as if in the original version fo the “Forceback” moments, it was all tied to the Skywalker saber. The movie opened with it and we saw how the sword moved through conflict and crisis over the Skywalker Saga. Well, it is worth mentioning that Rey being dropped off on Jakku or dropped off with Unkar Plutt would seemingly mean that the saber was there for that even in the earliest version of the film. Who would have it? Perhaps Kylo Ren tracked them down and murdered them but never being able to go full “Darth Vader” could not kill the little girl. Perhaps he saw them having a drink together, happier than the home he came from, and his rage got the better of him like Anakin with the Tusken Raiders in Attack of the Clones.

Current rumors suggest that Kylo cannot kill Rey at the start of this film so the Knights of Ren take him to reforge his mask so he can “do what must be done, show no mercy.” The Knights of Ren may have observed Kylo not be able to follow through on killing Rey twice. Then there’s the rumored twist that Kylo then asks Rey to kill him to vanquish Palpatine once and for all at the end of the second act.

Rey’s Potential Perspective:

Rey and Han Solo clearly have a connection in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That said, it is my opinion that in the narrative, neither of them suspect they’re related. But Solo is the father she always wanted. That complicates things in the sense that if actually is the father and she watched her half brother murder him on Starkiller Base.

That could mean Rey atoning with Ben could be a little more heated than we initially assumed. But Kylo ultimately doing exactly what Solo did for his family has a nice potential ring to it too. It says he’s more of a Solo than the man in the mask.

I also always felt like it would be cool if Rey was no one. That said, if her parents were just drunks, would she have an attachment that extended beyond adolescence in which she waited for them? Maybe there’s some truth to the situation but not the extreme and emotional depiction Kylo Ren draws for her to essentially neg her into being his ally and confidant.

Han’s Possible Perspective

How does Han view all of this? My guess is that the mother figures out she’s pregnant but Leia and Han have already “reconnected” or continued with the married life rituals of the past. Perhaps like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, she finds her “Williams” that obscures Mutt Williams actual lineage as a Jones? That said, Han Solo’s family isn’t that great and he has a hard time adapting to the structure. When things go badly with Leia and Ben maybe he figures staying out of his daughter’s life is better for her because he’s so flawed.

When I watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I don’t feel like Han knows Rey is his daughter or could be his daughter. But I do buy into that idea that maybe she reminded him of the daughter he has out there somewhere and maybe that’s a little of Rey’s charm for Han Solo? I can also see Han never telling Leia because the situation was volatile to begin with and knowing what his son knows and why he hates him, he found it easy to walk away when Leia got wrapped up in the coming war.

Who is the Mother?

Sources have been pretty much saying Keri Russell is not the mother. Knowing what we know about Zorri, it makes makes me think there’s little chance for that at the moment. It would also be a little strange if the character that helps our heroes in the earlier stages of the film also happens to be Rey’s long lost mom just introduced in the film.

I think the other question fans will likely ask is if Qi’Ra is the mother. Rey’s original name was in the film was Kira and she could be the mother. She would be in early forties when Rey was born but that doesn’t rule out she was the mother. There was a time when they considered making Qi-Ra an alien in Solo: A Star Wars Story which seems to imply if this was the plan all along they considered deviating from it or it simply wasn’t.

I’m not sure how they would explain her being Maul’s apprentice and a crime boss who then meets up with Solo again and leaves the life behind her. But it would answer where Rey gets a lot of that potential Force ability, which she clearly could get from Solo but it would seem Qi’Ra is not far off from having some of those abilities herself with that blade she uses.

That said, my guess is the mother is neither Keri Russel’s Zorri or Qi’Ra but rather someone we’ll be introduced to or told about in the film.

What it means for The Skywalker Family

If this rumor pans out, Rey is not a Skywalker. But Rey is family. Rey is Ben Solo’s sister and he’s half Skywalker. It very much makes her story apart of the Skywalker’s story, especially in the way she connects to all of the players involved. This might be the best idea to give the character some agency in being her own thing while also having that bloodline link so many fans require.

I theorized in late 2014 on Now, This is Podcasting! while breaking down the “DL44” Solo originally gave her in the conceptualized phase of the film. So many details about the original intent of Abrams and Kasdan could be seen plain as day in those leaks. That said, the movie evolved and Rian Johnson took it further based on what was left for him to play with. At the end of the day, I don’t feel as if anything has been retconned, this is how the story evolved and what they wanted to make of it in the end.

If this rumor pans out, we ultimately have the story of a family and our hero, Rey is part of that family. She’s not the likely heir to the legacy. But isn’t that what Star Wars and these kinds of stories are ultimately about? If this is the story, we have a pretty nice layout for the unlikely hero we believe is nobody for most of the trilogy, believes she is nobody, and is treated like nobody but ultimately is someone that saves the galaxy and the Jedi.

Side Note: The Last Jedi’s Mary Poppins Moment

Sort of on a side note, the stuff with Leia we are hearing makes that moment in The Last Jedi where Leia flies through freezing space a little more palatable. It truly doesn’t bother me but it is the criticism I think is the fairest game. If we learn that Leia was in fact training with Luke for a time and has some abilities, it makes that moment, which already makes sense, make more sense to the potential detractors of the moment itself.

Please treat the story as a rumor because that’s what it is right now. Don’t spread it around social media. And please don’t freak out. Be cool. Don’t be a dick.

All that said, it appears the actual path that is accurate is likely revealed in shooting this side of it down.

Check out some recordings I did for fun on Spotify or on Apple Music: