‘Star Wars: Episode 8’ Rumor: Why Rey Won’t Turn To The Dark Side

After watching the trailer for Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi, many were put under the impression that Rey (Daisy Ridley) is not the hero that they believed she was.

In the final seconds of the clip, Rey shows frustration as she looks for someone who can help her “find my place in all this.” The next frame showed her supposed nemesis Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) apparently lending his hand.

While the general belief is that this was nothing but a red herring made by editing, it is still possible that Rey may not be the new Jedi that everyone expected her to be in Star Wars: Episode 8.

According to the well-known pop culture watcher and YouTuber Charlie Schneider better known as Emergency Awesome, the red color theme being used in the promotion of the film—including the logo for The Last Jedi as well as the poster—suggests that it will be dark side-heavy.

From what has been revealed so far, it is believed that this theme applies most to Rey. The YouTuber speculates this is possibly because her parentage, while remaining a mystery going into Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi, might be connected to the dark side.

Unlike Kylo, who believes he is destined to be an agent of the dark side despite his struggle to fully banish the light in him, Rey is yet to choose the path she will take and where she comes from will affect her decision. The most important thing for her come Star Wars: Episode 8, however, is that she gets to make sense of and eventually control what is happening inside of her.

It was suggested in the Star Wars: Episode 8 trailer that, if Rey really hails from the dark side, the fact that Luke (Mark Hamill) is not willing to help her after what happened with Ben Solo (Driver) could drive her to seek help from someone else.

This is what Supreme Leader Snoke will capitalize on to lure Rey to the dark side. She will push her to “fulfill your destiny,” much like Emperor Palpatine did with Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. Because of this, Kylo Ren could be set aside, upon which he will learn he is only an expendable pawn in the ancient Sith’s chess game. This could lead to him returning to the light as he goes after his master.

However, Emergency Awesome said that despite the exciting possibilities presented by Rey turning to the dark side and Kylo Ren ending up returning to the light, the YouTuber explains that looking at the Star Wars franchise in a “cultural sense” and how Disney set up Rey as a hero in Star Wars: Episode 7 – The Force Awakens that young girls and boys can look up to, the idea becomes very unlikely.

With the company making conscious efforts to bring female heroes front and center in Star Wars, an evil Rey is definitely out of place. Unless Disney is prepared for “riots” from fans, as Emergency Awesome describes, the character going rogue is a tall order and even if she considers turning to the dark, it is expected she will be snapped out of it before Star Wars: Episode 8 rolls the credits.

Of course, nothing is set in stone yet. Fans will just have to see for themselves in Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi when it hits theaters December 15.

[Featured Image by Disney and Lucasfilm]