This time in 2015, when Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens premiered, there was much talk about who the main character Rey (Daisy Ridley) might be related to. Theories were declared, scenes were examined, and fans were determined, but ultimately, The Force Awakens left us without an answer. Then, the trailers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hit, and folks immediately began to speculate on who the movie's new badass female lead, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) might be. Since Rogue One is set around the time of Episode IV: A New Hope, it was totally resaonable to think that Jyn Erso is Rey's mother. But is she? Now that the film is out, we know for sure, since Rogue One answers the question for good.
Major spoiler alert! It's only natural that people are curious about how all of the Star Wars characters are related. The twin siblings of Luke and Leia and the twist reveal of their parentage was a major factor of the original trilogy, and made Star Wars essentially a family saga. That saga has continued with TFA, with Lei and Han's son Ben/Kylo Ren embracing the Dark Side and becoming the movie's main villain. So going forward, fans are going to assume that everybody is related to somebody, and that just makes the drama all the more exciting.
Who Rey's parents are became a big focus of TFA's aftermath, and once we were given another brave, white, brunette hero in the Rogue One teaser, it was only natural that fans got to theorizing that Jyn would end up being Rey's mom. They're both powerful, inspiring female characters and it would make sense for them to be connected. From Jyn and Rey's shared accents, to that scene in which Leia hugs Rey immediately upon meeting her in TFA, to the timeline, there's a lot of good evidence that Jyn is Rey's mom. But there's also a lot supporting the idea that it's super unlikely. Not everyone has to be related, and introducing a main-saga character's lineage in what is technically a side anthology movie might not make total sense. So is Jyn Erso actually Rey's mother?
Nope. Jyn Erso is not Rey's mom. And how do we know? Sadly, Jyn does not make it out of Rogue One alive. Her mission is a sacrificial one. Her brave death allows the Rebel Alliance to get a hold of the Death Star plans, as we know, and since we've never heard of her or seen her in any of the following films, it's kind of predictable that she'd not make it. It's also not really possible that Jyn would have a secret child stashed away somewhere. If Rey is about 20 years old during TFA, and 35 years have passed between it and A New Hope, Jyn would have had to have Rey at some point in the future.
So Rey's parentage and family remain a mystery, gang. On to Episode VIII.
Images: Walt Disney Studios
