The veil of secrecy swirling around the nextStar Warsmovie is slowly being lifted, with Disney and LucasFilm revealingThe Last Jedi titlejust a few weeks ago. There are still plenty more mysteries to be solved. One of the bigger ones that many fans may have forgotten revolves aroundBenicio del Toro’s character, who still hasn’t been confirmed at this time. There’s an interesting new fan theory out there about who he may be. If this theory is confirmed, it could have quite an amazing impact on the franchise, and perhaps will even force fans to pay closer attention to the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels. It should go without saying that there are potential SPOILERS forThe Last Jedibelow, but we’re saying it anyway, so read on at your own risk.
This comes from the Fan Theories section ofReddit, where a person known as “Darth_Hodor” has presented a solid theory as to whoBenicio del Torois playing. Rey’s heritage has been one of the biggest questions from the start, especially withThe Force AwakensdirectorJ.J. Abramsteasing a few years ago that both Rey and Finn’s surnames have been intentionally omitted for the time being. Many believe that, just like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) learned Darth Vader was his father inEmpire Strikes Back, Rey will learn who her parents are inThe Last Jedi. If this theory is true, then Rey’s father will be none other than Ezra Bridger, the character voiced byTaylor Grayon the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels. Here’s part of his theory below.
“Simply put, I thinkBenicio Del Torois going to be Rey’s father. None of the other Rey theories really make much sense. She’s not going to be a Skywalker (besides we already have a new one in the form ofKylo Ren), she’s not a Kenobi, or anyone else we know. I did find the thought of her being related to Palpatine interesting but they’d have to really work hard to sell that one, and I don’t see the majority of the audience really buying that. But that’s not to sayDel Torowill be playing a new character. I think he’s playing an adult Ezra Bridger (from theRebelsTV show). He’d be about the right age, and there have been theories thatRebelswill end with Ezra (and Kanan if he’s still alive) joining Luke’s new Jedi Academy.”
Given the timeline whereStar Wars Rebelsis set, which is roughly five years beforeA New Hope, that would mean Ezra Bridger would be roughly 51 years old duringThe Last Jedi. SinceBenicio del Torohimself is 49 years old, turning 50 in just a few weeks, this theory could certainly be plausible, but that doesn’t mean there’s any truth to it. Still, if Ezra Bridger isRey’s father, it doesn’t explain why Rey was dumped on the planet of Jakku by herself. As it turns out, Darth-Hordor has a theory on why that happened as well.
“But then why was she left onJakku? The theory I’ve come up with is that Ezra fell to the dark side. He joins forces with Snoke and together they start manipulating the Jedi starting with Ben Solo. Foreseeing this, Luke hides Rey from her father, and in retaliation Ezra, through or with Kylo Ren, destroy the Jedi Academy. Luke flees and Del Toro is left without knowing where his daughter is hidden. The reason I really like this theory is it allows for a “double fall” in Episode VIII. It sets up Rey’s fall to the dark side (which could be incredible if pulled off correctly) and Kylo Ren is already poised for a redemption arc of his own (a “fall” to the light). This would set up a fantastic finale between these two characters inEpisode IX.”
There was also a different theory that surfaced just yesterday, which claimed that Kylo Ren may tell Rey who her parents really are, while she’s hanging from a cliff during their lightsaber battle on Ahch-To. Even if this new Ezra Bridger theory is true, it doesn’t reveal who Rey’s mother may be, or if she may be a character fromStar Wars Rebelsas well. All we know for sure is that someone left Rey on Jakku, with junk dealer Unkar Plutt (Simon Pegg) watching over her covertly in the intervening years before the events ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens. It is believed that the first trailer forStar Wars: The Last Jediwill debut duringStar WarsCelebration this April, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet either.
