Movies

'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker': J.J. Abrams Explains If Force Abilities Must Come From A Character's Bloodline

Rey's bloodline
By Ben Pearson

Despite J.J. Abrams' recent comments praising Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I still find myself wondering if he plans to tweak anything Johnson established in that film with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But one thing he definitely will not be changing is the idea that you don't have to come from a specific bloodline to be able to tap into the Force. Read Abrams' recent comments below.

Does Rey's Bloodline Matter?

A few days ago, a Twitter user tweeted what appears to be excerpts from a Spanish language issue of Premiere Magazine which features an interview with J.J. Abrams talking about Star Wars. Assuming this is legit, and it looks like it is, here's what Abrams had to say (via Google Translate) when asked if the prevailing message from Star Wars: The Last Jedi – the fact that anyone from any background can become a powerful Force user – still holds true in his sequel:

"Yes, of course keeping that message has been a priority. It is an absolute mistake to say that you have to be related to a particular person or blood line to have power with the Force. Since I was a child, one of the most moving things for me was to know what anyone could be a Jedi."

That's a promising statement, and I'm extremely curious to see if it applies specifically to Rey (Daisy Ridley), the Jakku scavenger-turned-Resistance-leader whose mysterious lineage seems like it's going to catch up to her in this final Skywalker saga movie. Will Rey's bloodline really matter in the end? I hope the answer is no, because personally I think that would make things more interesting and less insular in a franchise that has thus far preferred to stay frustratingly limited in scope. But I suppose even if Abrams has some sort of larger connection cooked up (is Rey related to Emperor Palpatine somehow??), this "anyone can be a Jedi" mentality that he's talking about here could still extend to smaller supporting characters, like Broom Boy from The Last Jedi. If that's the case, let's just hope that actually means something in the context of the movie and doesn't feel tacked on.

And while we're talking about The Rise of Skywalker, check out this poster from this past weekend's CCXP19 in Brazil (click to see the full image):

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker blasts into theaters on December 20, 2019.

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