I Officially Have A Favorite Dark Side Rey Theory. Here It Is.
Over the last week, there’s been hundreds if not thousands of different theories floating around the internet in reference to the latest look at ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’ out this December. Most of these theories apply directly to the two-second clip that caps the teaser off, featuring Daisy Ridley as Rey, cloaked in dark robe, wielding a red double-bladed lightsaber that we’ve never seen before in a live-action setting…
Could Rey have really fallen to the Dark Side?! Has The Emperor’s spirit possessed her body?! What are the chances this is just a dream?! Maybe the saber is blue in the movie, and the red is just a trailer diversion?! WHAT COULD IT ALL MEAN?!?!?!?!
I read over a couple (hundred) of them, and wasn’t really impressed with any in particular. Nothing stood out and captivated me and really got me thinking…until a random Reddit post under the subreddit r/StarWarsSpeculation yesterday afternoon. I read it over, kinda loved it, and sent it to a few trusted colleagues for their thoughts and opinions on the theory, and received nothing but approval, so I decided I’d share it with all of you here today and declare it my FAVORITE DARK SIDE REY THEORY!
Before we begin, though, I will state that this is a theory and nothing more, so if it doesn’t happen in the movie, don’t be upset – especially not at JJ Abrams or anyone involved in the making of the film. Current online theory culture is kinda ruining how much fun it is to speculate about what could happen in these flicks because everyone is getting butthurt when what they predicted would happen doesn’t. Whatever. Just have fun with it and don’t take it too seriously is what I’m saying.
This theory, which we’ll call the ‘Force Unleashed II Theory’, comes from u/BrunoHM on Reddit. Major props to him/her for this observation, because it’s super dope and has had my thinking since I read it. They posted a thread with the subject line: “We should remember Force Unleashed II and the Starkiller´s clones”, and accompanied it with the following image…
Within the thread, u/BrunoHM comments:
[The image above is a mock-up for the discussion]
Anyhow, FU2 is not canon, but it did play around with clones being able to use the Force. Not only that, but the story behind them might not be too far from what we get with Rey. Spoilers ahead.
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After Starkiller, Vader´s secret apprentice, died after joining the Resistance, his body was kept by Vader and then used to create clones of him. Vader wanted a perfect pupil for him to control, and while most failed to grow (they could grow very fast, but they all got mad because of the proccess and the memories of the original Starkiller), 2 clones did manage to live. We had a good clone (The protagonist) and an evil clone (The Dark Apprentice).
After escaping Kamino, The good Starkiller eventually went to Dagobah and entered the DS cave of ep.V. In there, he saw multiple versions of him (reminds us of something from TLJ, don´t you think?). His arc, eventually, led him back to the original Starkiller´s lover and join the Resistance once again, rejecting the destiny given to him by Vader. The other clone, on the other hand, embraced the DS and served Vader, just like he wanted.
If we switch Vader to Palpatine and Starkiller to Luke…I think we could see something similar-ish in Rise. Dark Rey could be her clone that “worked” or even a vision of what she was supposed to be. I agree that there is still quite a lot of spots to fill and this is far from perfect, but I wanted to remind people of what FU2 brought to the table in regards to clones in the franchise.
If you want to know more about FU2´s story…HERE.
Could be all wrong, but it is fun to speculate either way.
For those completely lost as to what ‘The Force Unleashed’ is, or who this secret Darth Vader apprentice is, let’s bring it back a bit.
‘The Force Unleashed’ was the title of a Star Wars video game series between 2008-2010 that was incredibly popular. It featured a character named Starkiller as its main protagonist, and he was Darth Vader’s secret apprentice between Episodes III and IV. Both games were really really amazing, based not entirely on their gameplay, which was fun, but moreso on its storylines and cutscenes, which were just phenomenally done. Don’t forget the lack of major Star Wars media at this point in time.
Anyway, in the second ‘Force Unleashed’ game (I think), it’s revealed that Starkiller was just one of many clones designed to be the perfect pupil for Lord Vader, and two clones managed to survive the process – one good, one bad. The good clone was eventually reunited with the original Starkiller’s love interest and lived a happily ever after life with the Rebels, while the bad clone served Lord Vader as intended and was known as “The Dark Apprentice”. It was a pretty dang cool storyline.
Eventually, when Disney bought Lucasfilm, this was all made non-canon, meaning…it doesn’t count, basically. It never happened. We can still play the game and enjoy the story, but it’ll never be referenced in any other Star Wars media. Whatever. Not a huge deal.
What if there are beats of this beloved Star Wars tale echoed in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, however, and Rey is just as much a clone as Starkiller?
What if, in The Emperor’s contingency plan, he had full armies and arsenals of Sith Troopers and Imperial Star Destroyers hidden away in the Outer Rim, and created dozens of clones to continue on his legacy in the case of an untimely death? Clones made using a mixture a DNA from The Emperor, Anakin Skywalker, and possibly even Luke Skywalker (where’d that severed hand wind up?!)?
Finally…what if two clones survived? A good clone, in Jakku Rey, that we’ve been with in ‘The Force Awakens’ and ‘The Last Jedi’, and a bad clone, who’s just now showing up? Possibly even a bad clone who’s pure existence shows Kylo Ren the path to “redemption” or a noble sacrifice?!
I don’t know how the hell a good clone ended up on Jakku, but I’m just saying…it’s fun to think about. You do enough thinking about it, and you start going back to the scenes it’d improve from the last two flicks. It’d certainly explain Rey’s extraordinary ability and Force powers, right? It’d make the Dark Side cave from ‘The Last Jedi’ a whole lot more relevant, and dare I say, iconic, to the entire saga…
It’s just something to think about.
Do I believe it’ll unfold like this in the film itself on December 20th? No. Absolutely not. It’s probably just a Force Vision, being the same sorta sound effects play in the seconds leading up to Dark Side Rey as the ones that play before her Force Vision in ‘The Force Awakens’…
…but it’s fun to think about.