Rey Is Not a True Skywalker: Here’s Why She Adopted the Name
One of the things that fans never necessarily liked about Rey in the sequel trilogy of Star Wars is the fact that, at the end of her story, she proclaimed herself a Skywalker. Of course, this was supposed to sound good so that the Skywalker legacy would still continue, as all of the known Skywalkers at that time were already dead. Nevertheless, this was something that fans didn’t exactly like. So, why did Rey even adopt the Skywalker name?
The likely reason why Rey adopted the Skywalker name could be connected to the fact that she chose to be a Skywalker instead of a Palpatine after choosing to be a Jedi instead of a Sith. This was a symbolic gesture of her decision to turn away from her bloodline so that she could choose her own path after spending time with the Skywalkers.
Even though fans weren’t exactly happy about the fact that Rey called herself a Skywalker, the thing that needs to be considered is that she was particularly close to the Skywalkers and has adopted not only their name but also their Jedi legacy. Of course, other theories suggest something even more intimate between Rey and another Skywalker. So, with that said, let’s look at why Rey chose to be a Skywalker.
Is Rey actually related to a Skywalker?
At the end of the storyline of ‘Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,’ one of the things that fans were able to see was that Rey chose the Skywalker family name after a woman on Tatooine asked who she was and what her family name was.
Of course, fans weren’t exactly happy about this because, truth be told, Rey wasn’t the most popular character because of her “Mary Sue” nature as a character. So, was Rey even related to a Skywalker?
Unfortunately, the truth is that there are no familiar connections between Rey and the Skywalker family. We know that the Skywalkers, Luke, and Leia, were the offspring of Anakin Skywalker, who was the only one who carried the Skywalker name during his time. As far as we know, Luke never had any clear romantic relationships or children. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Leia Organa got married and had a son named Ben Solo, who was the legacy of the Skywalker bloodline.
On the other hand, we found out about Rey in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ that she was actually the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine himself. This may sound confusing because we never knew Darth Sidious had his own children. But it was explained in the comics that Palpatine spent the Imperial era trying to find the secrets to immortality, including trying to clone himself to produce a vessel to which he could eventually transfer his soul.
The cloning procedure gave rise to a clone named Dathan, who was a pure Sheev Palpatine clone. While Dathan had all of Palpatine’s DNA, he was a failure or an “abomination” because he didn’t have the Force sensitivity that the Sith Eternal wanted when they cloned him. As such, he became an unsuitable clone for the emperor.
But Dathan was spared because Palpatine realized that his “son” could still be useful. He predicted that Dathan could be used for creating offspring that could potentially carry the power of the Force. Because of that, he was allowed to live. Dathan, however, escaped Exegol on visiting Darth Vader’s ship because he wanted to live a normal life. He fell in love with a human female and eventually bore a child, who became Rey.
Dathan, however, understood that Rey’s life would never be normal as long as Palpatine and the Sith were chasing her around. This led to Dathan abandoning her on Jakku, where she grew up a loner while surviving the harsh deserts of the planet.
In that regard, there were no connections between Rey and the Skywalkers at all. The only time she became connected to them was when she came across BB-8 and got herself mixed up with the affairs of the Resistance.
Because of her innate abilities in the Force, she was the one who was tasked to go to Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To, where he had been hiding the entire time. Rey spent a few days training the basics of the Force under Luke before his eventual death. After that, she spent around a year training under Leia Organa.
Why does Rey say she’s a Skywalker?
Of course, at the end of the sequel trilogy, all of the characters who carry the Skywalker bloodline are already dead. Luke and Leia died through exhaustion. Meanwhile, after returning to the light side, Ben Solo used his powers to bring Rey back from the dead after she died out of exhaustion when she defeated Palpatine once and for all.
So, while Rey lived, all three characters directly connected to Anakin Skywalker died. This means that there was no longer any living Skywalker at that time. Still, Rey decided to call herself a Skywalker even though she wasn’t remotely related to the Skywalkers.
She chose the Skywalker name because she wanted to become one after choosing to live her life as a Jedi instead of as a Sith. Remember that Palpatine wanted to turn her over to the dark side so that he could force her to kill him and complete the ritual of soul transference that Palpatine wanted to use to live in Rey’s body. But because Rey rejected his offer and chose to be a Jedi, she chose the legacy of the Skywalkers, whom she connected to more, instead of her actual Palpatine bloodline.
There’s also the fact that Rey was romantically involved with Ben Solo, the only known grandson of Anakin. So, while they were never married, she still loved Ben and must have thought of her connection with him and the other Skywalkers as a reason for her to adopt the Skywalker family name and legacy. And now that she is the last known living Jedi as far as the sequel trilogy is concerned, she also carries the legacy of all of the Jedi, including the Skywalkers themselves.
Does Rey have Skywalker DNA?
As mentioned, Rey was the daughter of one of the clones of Palpatine. Let’s not forget that the emperor used whatever resources he had at his disposal to try to create a clone that could be powerful enough to become his vessel.
This led to the creation of a lot of different clone samples, including Supreme Leader Snoke himself. And while it was never specifically mentioned, there’s a good chance that Palpatine used a lot of different DNA samples, including the ones belonging to Anakin or the other Skywalkers.
However, Rey wasn’t born from a clone with a Skywalker DNA. That’s because her father, Dathan, was said to be a pure clone of Palpatine. In that regard, he was no different from the Boba Fett and all of the other Jango Fett clone troopers in the sense that they were largely unaltered as far as their genetics were concerned. So, that means that Rey didn’t have Skywalker genetics.
But there’s also a theory pointing to the possibility that Rey could actually have Skywalker DNA in her body, but in a different sense. And this is related to the theory of Ben Solo impregnating her.
During the earlier events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ it was shown that Rey and her allies went to a planet called Pasaana to follow the lead related to a clue that could lead them to the location of Exegol. On the planet, they joined one of the festivals of the locals. One of the locals gave Rey an Aki-Aki necklace, which was said to be a fertility necklace. Then, near the film’s end, Ben revived Rey using his life force. He did so while touching her in her womb.
This opens up the possibility that Ben not only transferred his life essence to Rey to revive her but also impregnated her using the power of the Force. As such, some fans believe Rey is pregnant at the movie’s end.
Another clue is that the next movie, which will follow Rey’s efforts at rebuilding the Jedi Order, takes place 15 years after the events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ So, if that’s the case, 15 years is more than enough for Rey to raise a child into a teenager carrying the Skywalker bloodline. As such, it is possible that the next phase of Star Wars will not be about Rey but will be about her Skywalker child.
Nevertheless, we are merely speculating here. There is nothing confirmed regarding any of our speculations and theories. We just have to wait for the next chapter in Rey Skywalker’s to find out more about her decision to carry the Skywalker name and whether or not she carried the legacy of the Skywalker bloodline.
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