Rey

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Rey was introduced as a 19-year-old woman living on Jakku, surviving by scavenging machine parts in the desert wastes. Her journey began when she rescued the droid BB-8 and encountered Finn, a former stormtrooper. After escaping the First Order with Finn, they stole the Millennium Falcon and met Han Solo and Chewbacca. At Maz Kanata's castle, Rey discovered Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and experienced a vision of her younger self being abandoned on Jakku. Maz told her that whoever abandoned her would never return and urged her to seek strength in the Force. Rey fled into the forest but was captured by Kylo Ren, who probed her mind for a map BB-8 had shown her. She resisted his efforts and read his emotions instead. Rey's story continued as she escaped Starkiller Base, where she witnessed Han Solo's death at Ren's hands. In a duel with Ren, she initially struggled but eventually wounded him before fleeing. Later, in The Last Jedi (2017), she sought out Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To to recruit him for the Resistance. Though he refused, he gave her limited training, noting her immense raw strength and temptation toward the dark side. Rey discovered a Force connection with Ren, which writer Rian Johnson described as a way to make them talk without fighting. In The Rise of Skywalker (2019), it was revealed this connection made them two halves of a "dyad," described by co-writer Chris Terrio as "soulmate[s] in the Force" and "twins of fate." This revelation coincided with learning her parents were not who she thought, leading to the truth that Emperor Palpatine was her grandfather.

In Their Own Story

Rey's narrative arc spans three films, starting with her life as a loner on Jakku. In The Force Awakens, after escaping the First Order and witnessing Han Solo's death, she dueled Kylo Ren in the snow of Starkiller Base, wounding him before fleeing to Ahch-To. There, she attempted to recruit Luke Skywalker but was met with his refusal to train her. During their time together, Rey felt a Force connection with Kylo Ren, who claimed Luke tried to murder him. She left Ahch-To to confront Ren, only to be captured and brought before Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke revealed he created the connection between Rey and Ren to reach Luke. After torturing Rey, Snoke ordered Ren to kill her, but Ren killed Snoke instead. Rey and Ren defeated Snoke's guards side by side. Ren asked Rey to join him in creating a new order, but she refused after admitting her parents abandoned her. She summoned the lightsaber with the Force; when Ren tried to pull it to himself, the weapon was destroyed. Rey fled and later helped the Resistance fight on Crait. In The Rise of Skywalker, Rey faced the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, her grandfather. With the help of past Jedi voices and her dyad connection with a redeemed Ben Solo (formerly Kylo Ren), she defeated him. Following Palpatine's defeat, Rey traveled to Tatooine to bury Luke and Leia's lightsabers. There, she adopted the name Rey Skywalker to honor her mentors, establishing herself as the leader of a new generation.

Reader's Guide

Rey is characterized as an "ultimate outsider" and "disenfranchised person," described by writer Michael Arndt as a "loner, hothead, gear-head, badass." She is introduced as less callow than Luke Skywalker was in the original film. Her Force sensitivity is revealed when she touches Anakin and then Luke's lightsaber, allowing her to use the Force without training and defeat Kylo Ren in a duel. Her relationship with Kylo Ren evolves through a unique "Force dyad" connection. Director Rian Johnson used this device to facilitate dialogue between them, noting that Rey seeing Ren shirtless during these visions showed increasing intimacy. Both Johnson and J.J. Abrams described their relationship as a romance. Rey's musical theme, composed by John Williams, is designed to be "mature and thoughtful," carrying an adventurous tone illustrating empathy rather than traditional heroism. Key to her development is the mirror-invoking vision in The Last Jedi, which director Rian Johnson said represents learning to connect with herself. Her arc concludes in The Rise of Skywalker when she defeats Palpatine and adopts the name Rey Skywalker. For this portrayal, Daisy Ridley was nominated for Best Actress at the 2016 Saturn Awards.

Did You Know?

• Daisy Ridley auditioned four or five times over seven months to land the role of Rey.
• Rey was known by the name "Kira" in the early stages of production.
• Michael Arndt initially turned down the writing offer for the sequel trilogy because he felt intimidated by the scale, only accepting after learning it would tell a female Jedi's origin story.
• Rian Johnson explained that Rey seeing Kylo Ren shirtless during their Force connection was intended to show increasing intimacy between them.