Fans got an exclusive preview for the final chapter of “Star Wars” trilogy during the D23 conference held in Anaheim, California this recent week.
The trailer for the new movie, “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker” opens with footage from all nine epic space opera films. A voiceover from Luke declares that there have been “a thousand generations, but this is your fight.” Rey, Poe, and Finn are preparing for the biggest fight of their life.
We see battleships tear through the skies, as Rey and Kylo Ren meet in the middle of the war-torn planet, all drilled up for a fight. And the best part is they get to see Rey all dressed in black holding a red, double-sided lightsaber, raising talks that the main character is now taking a more antagonistic role in the upcoming film.
A lot of fans have came out with several theories and conspiracies regarding Rey’s supposed darker twist in the movie.
1. Evil Rey Is Actually A Cloned Rey
Cloning technique is no stranger in the “Star Wars” franchise. Not only did Emperor Palpatine developed the habit of cloning himself in order to achieve some sort of immortality, he also used army clones to fight in the animated series “The Clone Wars” (2008). The Emperor has confirmed to make his appearance in the new movie, just as he did in the Expanded Universe (EU) in a cloned version of himself. But the problem he faced there was that the more he tapped into the Dark Side, the more he would burn out his host body and require a new one.
Eventually Palpatine attempted to steal the body of Han and Leia’s son, Anakin, because it was the only vessel powerful enough to contain him. It has come to mind that Emperor Palpatine has made use of his cloning technology in the movie, by cloning Rey and turning her evil in the process.
2. The Movie Is Based On A Dark Side Vision
Let’s not forget the fact that Rey has a vision while training with Luke Skywalker back during “The Last Jedi” chapter back in 2017. She visited a cavern there that was powerful with the Dark Side, and while attempting to learn who her parents really were, she encountered multiple clones of herself. While some predicted that, others also came up with speculations that this is just a mere stylistic choice of director Rian Johnson.
Fans also relate with previous instalment of Star Wars – “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) – where Luke Skywalker also had a vision while visiting the cave in Dagobah. There he encountered Darth Vader and beheaded him, only to see that it was his own face under the mask. The symbolism made sense though, when it was revealed that Luke is the son of Vader and he soon become a member of the Dark Side like his father.
So maybe this is yet another vision of Rey’s. As IGN points out, it would complete the cycle neatly since she had similarly scary and foreboding Force visions in the previous two films, and the background here does look like the cave from “The Last Jedi” (2017).
3. Rey Is Possessed By Palpatine
Fans knew it that the evil Emperor would make his comeback. Since it looks like the film will partly take place on the Death Star where the Emperor died, maybe his spirit is still tied to the wreckage. And when Kylo Ren and Rey’s there during the battle scene, Palpatine takes the opportunity to possess Rey. Which in turn, Kylo has to fight against the dark Rey.
4. Rey Actually Turns To The Dark Side
Word on the street has it that Rey herself is willing to turn to the Dark Side. Though the rumour is less likely to happen, but according to a theory quoted by IGN, Rey would “maybe, just maybe go Dark for a little while“, but who knows?
Regardless of what the conspiracy will come out with, fans worldwide are looking forward for the upcoming third instalment of the sequel trilogy.
“Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker” will be releasing in US theatres on the 20th December 2019.
