This Mind-Blowing ‘Star Wars’ Fan Theory Posits Jyn Erso to Be Rey’s Mom
After The Force Awakens blew the minds of nostalgia-filled Star Wars fans everywhere, J.J. Abrams left fans with a slew of unanswered questions — though perhaps that was to be expected from the creator of the mind-boggling show Lost. Namely, who is Supreme Leader Snoke, why did Leia hug Rey instead of Chewbacca after Han Solo died, and most of all, who the heck are Rey's parents?
While the answer to Rey's parentage won't be definitively answered until Episode VIII at the earliest, a new theory has emerged, speculating that Rey (Daisy Ridley) will be revealed as the daughter of the badass Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) in the forthcoming Star Wars anthology spinoff, Rogue One. While theories are always fun to comb through, just how likely would a Jyn-Rey connection be?
Read more: 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Is Pissing People Off With its Female Lead, Felicity Jones
Really, what fans are reacting to are the physical similarities between Rey and Jyn, and the fact that they share very similar accents. However, that's a very broad generalization, which boils down to both characters being white women with British accents — not exactly the best theoretical evidence. Twitter seems on board though.
Assuming that Jyn survives the events of Rogue One, which is a serious question mark, given that she and a group of Rebel spies are going to steal the plans of the Death Star, she'd have to conceive Rey in her late 40s to be her mother — not impossible, but unlikely. The reason being, Rey was born around 11 years after the Battle of Endor, according to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary.
The rest of the evidence is, you guessed it, super speculative. Jyn is a rebellious type, she says as much in the trailer when approached by the Rebellion ("This is a rebellion, isn't it?," she posits. "I rebel"), and would appear to have similar attributes to Han Solo. Both are brooding outlaw types, and it's clear from The Force Awakens that Rey developed a special bond with Solo in a short amount time. Perhaps, because he reminded Rey of her parentage in some way, shape or form. Then again, other theories speculate Han to be her father, so there's that too.
We can't say for sure, particularly because very little is known about how the events of Rogue One will relate to the rest of the story. We know with certainty the Rebels will capture the Death Star plans, but that's the vague outline we're presented, and nothing more. The opening crawl for A New Hope is the only evidence we have based on how it happened, canonically, and all that can be gathered is that it was completed through a "hidden base."
That part of the crawl reads, in full: "It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet."
Ultimately, it's a theory, and is inherently harmless and fun to contemplate while we wait for Rogue One to be released. After all, we'd much rather hear about fans' endless theories for the new characters of the beloved franchise, rather than the narrow-minded complaints of some who hate to see another female lead character in a Star Wars film. So yes, Jyn Erso is almost definitely not Rey's mother, but let's not execrate something that demonstrates the passion of the fan base — and the power of the Force.
