At D23, a new trailer for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker was released. While some of it consisted of shots from previous movies, a whole bunch of new footage was revealed in the trailer. Fans seem to have mostly focused on the final few shots of the trailer, though, specifically when Rey–who’s new Sith robes and yellow eyes imply she’s fallen to the dark side of the Force–ignites a red-bladed lightsaber.
Without context, it’s difficult to say what this one scene could mean for the story in The Rise of Skywalker. It could just be a vision or a dream but there are other possibilities as well. We have our own theories as to what this final scene in the Rise of Skywalker trailer could be. If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, it’s embedded below.
Rey Is Facing Off Against Her Clone
This theory was first put forth by Star Wars Theory on June 2019, suggesting Rey has a connection to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. In the 2010 Star Wars game, protagonist Galen “Starkiller” Marek discovers he’s a clone of the original Galen and has been created by Darth Vader in an attempt to craft the perfect Sith apprentice.
Though The Force Unleashed series is no longer canon, Disney already has a track record of reusing Star Wars characters and lore under new context–ranging from Grand Admiral Thrawn to Darth Bane. Perhaps Disney is bringing back this clone storyline in The Rise of Skywalker, but changing it from a Galen clone made by Vader into a Rey clone made by Sidious.
In the novels and comics, Sidious repeatedly expresses disappointment in Vader being reduced to his cyborg state and thus being unable to tap into certain aspects of the dark side of the Force as a result. This has occasionally caused Sidious to try to find a new apprentice–with the most notable attempt being the ploy to turn Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi.
Perhaps one of Sidious’ plans for replacing Vader was cloning a Force-sensitive being until he could create the perfect apprentice. Rey could consequently be one of these clones; perhaps she was a defect who was discarded or the true success who was saved by scientists taking pity on her. Either way, being a clone would address Kylo’s confession in The Last Jedi that Rey is the daughter of nobodies, as then she’d have been born from a machine, not from anyone of note. If this theory is true, then the dark Rey in the trailer could be another failed clone, the original Rey, or the successful clone who is being controlled or possessed by the lingering spirit of Sidious.
Rey Is Undergoing Her Final Jedi Knight Trial
The dark Rey we see in the trailer could just be a vision and thus it could be a part of Rey’s trial to become a Jedi Knight. There are five trials every padawan learner must face when becoming a true Jedi Knight.
Rey has already completed four of the five trials: Skill, Courage, Flesh, and Insight. The Trial of Skill demands a Jedi display physical prowess, especially with a lightsaber. To pass the Trial of Courage, a Jedi needs to undergo a dangerous mission on their own. Only those who had lived through a torturous experience or lost a body part can surpass the Trial of the Flesh. The Trial of Insight is usually the final one all aspiring Jedi Knights must overcome, a test to prove that a Jedi knows how to problem-solve.
The Trial of the Spirit is the most difficult of all the tests, requiring a Jedi to look within themselves and acknowledge their own potential for evil before coming to terms with the fact that there is nothing to be done about destroying that darkness. All that can be done is to resist against it. We see Luke undergo this trial in The Empire Strikes Back in the cave on Dagobah and Kanan in Star Wars Rebels in the Jedi temple on Lothal.
Most Jedi can only undergo this trial by visiting a place where the Force converges and it’s possible to experience a life-like vision that gives their personal darkness a physical form to fight against. These places where the Force pool together are typically found in locations where major events involving the Force occurred.
Though Rey has come to terms with the fact that evil exists in Kylo, she has not come to terms with her own past. Specifically, she hasn’t dealt with the opportunity for evil to influence her mind through the desperate need she has to prove she’s not a nobody and is in fact a descendant of someone noteworthy. We see Rey and her friends approaching the remains of what looks like the second Death Star in one of the trailers for The Rise of Skywalker–the place where both Darth Vader and Darth Sidious died and created a massive vacuum in the dark side of the Force. That’s an ideal location for the Force to converge together, and Rey may be traveling to that location to complete her training and officially become a Jedi Knight.
Rey Sees Her Future
If Rey is doomed to fall to the dark side, then the vision of her consumed in darkness could be a vision of what’s to come. Though this theory is doubtful given the story in The Last Jedi, it is still possible. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Anakin foresaw that he’d become Darth Vader one day and Ahsoka experienced a vision in which she saw who she could become if she left Anakin’s side and stopped being a Jedi. The Force seems to love showing powerful Force users what their future could be even if that destiny ultimately ends up being prophecy.
Again, it’s unlikely Rey is going to fall to the dark side given her character arc in The Last Jedi. So maybe she’s experiencing a vision of what she’s destined to become unless she changes something about herself. And unlike Anakin and Ahsoka–both of which eventually caused their visions to become reality–maybe Rey is strong enough to break free of her destined future.
