 | |
| Rey | |
| Aliases: | Rey Skywalker [1] |
| Continuity: | Star Wars |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Type: | Scavenger |
| Gender: | Female |
| Location: | Jakku |
| Status: | Alive |
| First: | Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens |
| Actor: | Daisy Ridley Cailey Fleming [2] |
Rey, surname as yet unrevealed, is a fictional scavenger and space hero featured in the Star Wars multimedia franchise. Played by actress Daisy Ridley, she appeared in the 2015 feature film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Rey is presented as a tough loner, forced to survive in a tough environment, while inwardly longing for a sense of family. She finds herself taking her first steps into a larger world after meeting an astromech droid named BB-8 and a defecting Stormtrooper named Finn, whose actions cause Rey to leave her desert home of Jakku and awaken to the destiny that lies ahead of her.
Biography[]
Rey eating dinner.
Rey's early life is shrouded in mystery. What is known is that she was brought to the Inner Rim Territory world of Jakku when she was but a small child. Growing up in the desert wastelands near Niima Outpost, she was forced to survive by her own cunning and skills. The only thing that kept her going was the belief that someday her family would return for her. Rey made her living as a scavenger and lived inside the fallen wreckage of an AT-AT. She earned ration portions by scavenging for valuable materials found in the ruins of fallen starships left behind from the Battle of Jakku years earlier. Rey would often sell items to the junk dealer Unkar Plutt.
One day, after settling upon some meager rations from Unkar, Rey was returning home when she came upon an astromech droid named BB-8, which had been captured by a scavenger named Teedo. She freed BB-8 and encouraged him to be on his way, but the droid insisted on staying with her, so she took the spherical robot back to her abode.
Rey can handle herself.
The following day, while in the marketplace, Rey was set upon by several of Unkar's thugs. Nearby, a former Stormtrooper named FN-2187 took note of the affair and made a motion to help out, but stopped when he saw that Rey was more than capable of taking down the toughs on her own.
FN-2187, now calling himself Finn, introduced himself to Rey as a member of the Resistance. He told her that he was a friend of Poe Dameron, who was the rightful owner of BB-8 and needed to get the droid back to the Resistance headquarters as part of an important mission to find the last of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker. Finn's betrayal of the First Order quickly caught up with him as several Stormtroopers came planetside to retrieve him. Rey and BB-8 helped Finn to escape. While running outside the outpost, they found a ship that they desperately hoped was operable enough to help them escape - the Millennium Falcon.
Running from Stormtroopers.
Rey jumped in the cockpit of the ship and started up the engines, but complained over the lack of a co-pilot. She rocketed the ship out of the outpost as TIE fighters pursued her. Her quick wits and remarkable piloting skills enabled her to lose the ships by threading the Falcon through innards of a downed Imperial Star Destroyer. Exiting through the other side, they made a quick jump to Hyperspace and left Jakku.
While journeying through space, the Falcon was intercepted by a larger freighter ship, the Eravana. This ship was piloted by the Falcon 's original owner, Han Solo, who was accompanied by his trusty co-pilot Chewbacca. Introductions were quickly made, but Solo's own adventurous past was also quick to follow him, as the freighter was boarded by two rival pirate gangs - both of whom had issues with Han and Chewie. Rey provided an extreme distraction for the gangs, by releasing the monstrous Rathtars that Solo had captured. The giant tentacled monsters made short work of the pirates, and likely would have killed Finn as well until Rey closed one of the blast doors, severing the tentacle that had wrapped itself around Finn. Leaving the Eravana behind, they all boarded the Falcon and launched into Hyperspace. It was at this point that Rey revealed to Solo that she was now branded a fugitive by the First Order, along with Finn, and that they needed to get BB-8 back to the Resistance because the droid possessed part of a map leading to Luke Skywalker.
Rey and Han Solo.
Han brought them to the planet Takodana to consult with a millennium-old contact of his named Maz Kanata. Maz was Force sensitive and quickly deduced that there was something special about Rey. Even Han had taken a liking to Rey, impressed with how well she handled piloting the Falcon, and even offered her a job. Rey was flattered, but turned down the offer, insisting that she needed to return to Jakku in the hopes that her family might someday return for her.
Inside the castle, Rey learned more about the struggle between the Republic Resistance and the First Order. She felt an inexplicable urge however, and some unseen force drew her towards the lower bowels of the castle. She came upon an old trunk which contained a lightsaber. Upon touching it, Rey experienced a psychic flash, and saw images of the past, including the vision of a dark Force user named Kylo Ren, the bodies of several dead Jedi, and herself as a young girl being deposited on Jakku. Maz told her that the lightsaber belonged to Luke Skywalker, which in turn had been previously owned by his father, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader. Maz insinuated that the sense of belonging that Rey sought for was not to be found in her past, but in her future.
Rey and BB-8.
Moments later, agents of the First Order landed on Takadona, having been given information about the fugitives' whereabouts by a couple of spies. A firefight broke out between the pirates and members of the Resistance against the Stormtroopers. Rey took up a blaster given to her by Han Solo and fought against the soldiers until she came upon Kylo Ren - the man from her vision. Kylo used the Force to telekinetic ally freeze Rey in place and then took her prisoner. He brought her back to the First Order stronghold on Starkiller Base.
Kylo Ren tried to use the Force to telepathically force Rey to reveal information about the map inside of BB-8, but she proved to be too strong-willed for him. In fact, she caught some insight into Ren's mind, determining his own fears. She taunted him with the fact that his greatest fear was that he would never become as powerful as his grandfather, Darth Vader. Frustrated, Ren left her tied down in an interrogation chamber to await further questioning. By this point, Rey began to realize her connection to the Force. By quieting her mind, she was able to mentally control a Stormtrooper guard into undoing the straps holding her down and leaving his weapon behind.
Rey explored the vast corridors and chambers of the base looking for a means to escape. She reunited with Finn, Han Solo and Chewbacca, who had not only come to rescue her, but were also armed with explosives aimed at destroying the base's thermal oscillator. Rey was present when Kylo Ren had his final showdown with Han Solo - his father. After Solo was killed, Ren and Finn made their way out of the base and into the snow-capped forests of the mountains outside. Kylo Ren pursued them and fought against Finn, nearly killing him. Rey was forced to deal with Kylo Ren on her own. Kylo used the Force to telekinetically throw her against a tree, momentarily stunning her.
Kylo Ren gets the drop on her.
She got up, ignited Luke's lightsaber and fought against Kylo. She maintained primarily a defensive position, blocking the dark Jedi's wild saber thrusts, which drove her back towards the edge of a cliff. Kylo recognized the young woman's skill, but added that she needed training, and offered himself to her as a mentor in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force. At the moment when it seemed like death was imminent, Rey called upon the Force to bolster her confidence. She launched herself against Kylo Ren, forcing him backwards. She delivered a strike against his shoulder and disarmed him. Kylo Ren was alive, but defeated. With the destruction of the thermal oscillator, there was little time to waste as Starkiller Base was about to explode. Rey gathered the unconscious Finn and managed to escape from the planet before the base was destroyed (Kylo Ren also survived this debacle).
Rey, Finn, and BB-8 went to the planet D'Qar, which was where the Resistance maintained their headquarters. She met the leader of the Resistance, General Leia Organa - mother to Kylo Ren. Thanks to BB-8, the Resistance now had a complete map of where to find Luke Skywalker. Rey undertook the journey herself to find him and brought along Luke's old astromech companion, R2-D2.
Rey and R2-D2 traveled to the planet Ahch-To, which was allegedly the home of the original Jedi Temple. Landing on a rocky island, she met the grey-cloaked Luke Skywalker and handed him his lightsaber. The road to destiny was about to begin for Rey. [3]
Notes[]
Daisy Ridley on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- The character of Rey was created by director J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan based on concepts originally developed by George Lucas.
- Actress Cailey Fleming played young Rey in the Force vision scene in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. This is Cailey's first film work.
- Per information given in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens only, it is unclear whether Rey is her first name, her last name, or her only name. It is also just as likely that Rey may not even be her actual name at all.
- Rey is 1.7 meters tall. [4]
- Rey has demonstrated the ability to understand the beeps and whistles of astromech droid language. The Force Awakens gives no indication as to how she picked up this ability. Given as how Unkar was so ready to pay a lot of money for BB-8, it is implied that there are not that many astromech droids found on Jakku.
- Rey's preferred weapon of choice is the quarterstaff she used on Jakku, but she has also demonstrated skill with a blaster and a lightsaber.
- Rey made a toy X-wing fighter pilot, which she used to decorate the inside or her living quarters on the AT-AT.
- Actress Daisy Ridley was desperate to try out for the role of Rey. She had four to five auditions over the course of seven months and admitted that her first few readings "didn't feel good". [5]
- Rey appears on card #74 of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trading card series. The title of the card is "Rey on her speeder".
Appearances[]
See also[]
Media
The World of Star Wars
Star Wars miscellaneous
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
- ↑ Cailey Fleming played Young Rey in Rey's Force vision in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- ↑ Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- ↑ Star Wars Databank; Rey.
- ↑ IMDB; Daisy Ridley; "5 Things to Know About Daisy Ridley".