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Is There Another Skywalker In ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’?

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 08:11 PST, Oct 3, 2015

The release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a scant two months away, and fans have seized upon recently revealed information to assert that the highly anticipated film will feature a new addition to the Skywalker family.

[Possible spoilers regarding Star Wars: The Force Awakens follow]

This conclusion comes from comments made by Kathleen Kennedy, who discussed the way in which Disney has approached the Star Wars saga. According to her, the primary series of films, which will make up the third Star Wars trilogy, will focus on the story of the Skywalker family, just as the previous six movies have. Disney plans to release a new entry in this saga every other year, with Star Wars Stories (like Rogue One) picking up the slack in off years.

Kennedy made the comments in the pages of Costco Connection, as Coming Soon notes, and fans were quick to interpret them. She pointed out that The Force Awakens follows Return of the Jedi in such a manner that it continues the “generational story” of the Skywalker family, and in the eyes of many fans, this is a confirmation that at least one of the recently revealed characters in The Force Awakens is the heir to the Skywalker lineage.

The character of Rey, played by Daisey Ridley, has long been rumored to be the child of Han Solo and Princess Leia, making her the heir to the Skywalker family in the Force if not in name. While that has yet to be confirmed, Hitfix has pointed out several less obvious possibilities when it comes to the next generation of Star Wars characters.

In the lead-up to the opening of The Force Awakens, a number of new publications have been released, establishing a new canon for the Star Wars series (replacing the Expanded Universe of the 1990s). In one of those (Marvel’s Star Wars comic series), an interesting detail has been shared about Han Solo, amid much controversy among fans. It turns out that Solo had a wife prior to the first Star Wars film, and fans have speculated that Finn (John Boyega’s character in The Force Awakens) may be their offspring.

Interestingly, fan theories have also emerged regarding Rey and Kylo Ren. J.J. Abrams has notoriously pointed out that Rey and Finn’s last names are intentionally a secret, while Kylo Ren’s moniker is actually a title he assumed. Some fans have suggested that Kylo Ren and Rey could actually be brother and sister, together heirs to the Skywalker line. While Rey was squirreled away to Jakku for protection, they suggest that Kylo Ren idolized his grandfather, turning toward the Dark Side. As Hitfix noted, this would establish an interesting dynamic among the characters, particularly if Rey turns out to be a stronger user of the Force than Kylo Ren.

Early promotional materials have shown Finn wielding Anakin Skywalker’s old lightsaber, yet some fans have suggested that this is little more than misdirection. Recently leaked images of trading cards manufactured for The Force Awakens have shown Rey to be a Jedi, so if they are to be believed, it is perfectly logical that she may be the newest Skywalker in the Star Wars universe.

Whether or not this proves true, it remains only a matter of time before fans are able to discern who will represent the newest generation of Skywalkers in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

[Photo by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images]

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