Star Wars - Episode VIII - Rumors, Theories, and Speculation

Star Wars - Episode VIII - Rumors, Theories, and Speculation!

Let's start with Rey! It's obviously unclear whom Rey's parents are, but given that this story, as a generational family saga, is meant to tell the next inter-family conflicts of the Skywalker lineage, there is little doubt in my mind that she isn't either Han's and Liea's other child or Luke's own daughter, especially because the film fixates on her journey, while not revealing parentage in contrast to not getting underneath Kylo Ren's story, but revealing his and having these two characters pitted against each other by the films end.

Hints from Episode VII tell us that Han Solo comes off as father-figure to Rey, so that might be the most straight forward clue as to where her parentage lies. From a thematic-story perspective, it also may make a greater deal of sense for Rey to come to be pitted against her own brother, whom she has witnessed the killing of their own father. The story might seem less compelling, if they would be cousins instead of siblings.

But lets look at the alternative anyways! If she would be Luke's daughter, it gives Luke's story more relativity in the sense that, maybe his own child can motivate him forward seeing that he may view himself a failure much like Yoda post Revenge of the Sith, but more over there is implication that Luke would of had a love interest and that love interest would be Rey's mother.

Even though JJ Abrams has been helpful in explaining to us Ben Solo's inter conflict, he, and the story of Episode VII, have been guarded in explaining how he comes to the betrayal at what appears to be Luke's new Jedi Academy. From Rey's flashback-visions, to knowing point blank Ben Solo was training to be a Jedi under Luke, we know Luke comes to have a new academy of sorts and their is this massive betrayal and a younger Rey may have witnessed it and hidden on Jakku for her own protection.

Most fans know that the former expanded universe has been demoted to "Legends", but I did read one article that stated we could still see familiar faces and ideas from the previous cannon pop-up again and be blended back into the new cannon, which makes sense as to why the old EU is actually now called Legends.

Daisy Ridley has stated that the new saga films are not looking to the former expanded universe, most noticeably she means the Thrawn Trilogy (or Heir to the Empire Trilogy), but how true is that? The name Ben Solo no doubt sparks some obvious connections to "Ben" Kenobi, but also in the former EU, Luke and Mara Jade came to have son named, Ben Skywalker, while the Solos have three children, Anakin, Jaina, and Jacen Solo, in which Jacen falls to the dark side!

Luke in this former EU, also leads a new academy after saving Dark Force user Mara Jade from The Dark Side and establishes The New Jedi Order. Coincidentally, in our new canon, the remnants of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's/Darth Sidious' Empire is now called The New Order and seemingly run by Supreme Leader Snoke!



So it almost seems like there are bits of former EU running through the new canon, which might be more recognizable should there be a 'Mrs. Skywalker'. It should be noted that there may be two major female leads being cast for Episode VIII. One that almost seems to be a sealed deal is actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw and the other not yet cast, but two front runners for one of these roles are Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany and Bates Motel's Olivia Cook! Both of those actresses are noticeably causation, natural brunettes, and petite, reminding me of both Padme`Amadala and of course Liea Organa/Skywalker. Could one of these roles then be either another Skywalker/Solo child or the love interest of Luke?

Age wise, Tatiana and third front runner Gina Rodriguez seem like they could pull of being a love interest to Luke and potential mother to Rey, but one theory I have could also point to a preservation of youth, especially because one of these roles is also rumored to be the first "live-action" dark side or Sith force-user in these saga films and so new mythology of life extension, youth preservation, and/or immortality could be added to the mythology.

The thought crossed my mind, that if Rey would be the daughter of Luke and this other woman, one way to shake up the story, but yet give us something familiar to the old EU (and previous trilogy), would be if she would of betrayed Luke first by being aligned or even behind Supreme Leader Snoke and ultimately responsible for Ben Solo's betrayal and/or The Knights of Ren! The real reason I like this idea though, is because of the implication that Rey would not just be dealing with the hope of saving her Anakin-esque cousin, but because she would also be pitted against her own mother and juxtaposing the father and son dynamic from the previous trilogy with a mother and daughter dynamic instead!


But what else can Episode VIII be about?

Many have felt that Episode VII really hearkened back to the originally trilogy, and I think in terms of allusions and aesthetic choices, that is mostly true, but there are also a few things that connect us back to the prequel trilogy as well, including that The Clone Wars were specifically mentioned in passing relating to the belief that Ben Solo feels a clone army is better than The New Order's 'Youth Camp' methods with it's soldiers, due to obvious disobedience of Finn.

Ben Solo is also obviously reminiscent to Anakin at times, despite the irony that it is really "Vader" he worships. We see how strong both he and Rey are in relation to the Force, but he has mini hissy-fits showing his a lack of self control. He is also currently in training, and the flashback may show a parallel between he and Anakin killing many young Jedi, but where he differs, and where Rey actually has Aankin's early-days-do-gooder-heroic spirit, is in that he comes off less confidant and rather a reluctant villain.

Other connections come from Maz Katana's Palace-Bar. The flags upon entering are mostly flags we have seen from Pod Racing, but there is also a Mandaloran flag! In the prequels, we learn the origin of Boba Fett being an unaltered and not a growth accelerated clone of his father Jango Fett, while the rest became the Clone Army of the Republic that would one day also be programmed to turn their backs on their Jedi comrades and murder almost all of the Jedi!

There are also rumors of Hayden Christensen's return to either both Episode VIII and/or Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rogue One seems more likely given the time period. However, one reason some may have also speculated this has to do with fan theories centered around the possible introduction of his return in episode 7, which did not happen. ---But, those theories are also actually based a great deal on things happening in the new cannon.

For instance the Darth Vader comic series has introduced this scientist that was working on human and Alien-cyborg hybrids and claimed he had made them mimic the Force very efficiently. After the destruction of the first Death Star, Sidious is contemplating killing Vader and has this scientist build an army to fight Vader off.


Vader immediately proves that these force mimickers are no match for the real Force and re-secures his position, but the bigger reveals end up being the name of scientist and that he continues to be resurrected into a near identical body! Dr. Cylo IV dies and his conscious transfers to a new body where he becomes Dr. Cylo V! It's a curious choice to name this character fighting against Vader, Cylo, when Ben Solo calls himself Kylo, but worships Vader to the point where he believes he is talking to him and finishing what he views as Vader's failures, which could lead to speculation that if Kylo Ren/Ben Solo could resurrect, Vader, wouldn't he?

Another reason has to do with The Knights of Ren itself. Some are making correlations between them, and The Inquisitors, such as the "Seventh" Sister, from the Star Wars Rebels series, which also currently is bringing Clone Wars characters and ideas into it's series, more aptly tying them together. Some feel the Knights of Ren may be like a Knight's Templar and perhaps an evolution to the Inquisitors' beliefs, in which they set out to destroy all Jedi...

And one last reason has to do with what the prequels explore. One of which was the differences in ideology in relation to the Force. For Anakin, part of his fall has to do with a lack of transparency in terms of how the elder Master Jedi went about teaching The Force. There is initial hypocrisy in Yoda not wanting to teach Anakin, because of Anakin's own fears of loss--which then in itself revealed the Jedi Council's own fears, and perhaps set early seeds of distrust. Yoda in Attack of the Clones remedies himself by pointing out how arrogant some of the Jedi have become and reminding Obi-Wan that the Clone Army and their timing are not a victory! Unfortunately after that, the Jedi are furthered pushed from their principals by becoming soldiers, instead of peace keepers of The Republic. Then in Revenge of the Sith Aankin's heroics in the Clone Wars, including being a Padawan that takes on a another Padawan, goes unappreciated when asked to to made a Jedi Master on the Council at the request of Palpatine, and where Mace Windu openly states his own distrust of Anakin, because of his relationship with Emperor Palpatine, All of that helps explain his viewpoint against the Jedi...

But it is also the fact that he could not save his own mother that acts as a major turning point or catalyst, --and with that Palpatine tells Anakin stories about Sith Lords, such as his own former Master: Darth Plageuis The Wise and his Force abilities to create life from midi chloreans and bring back the dead! Originally there was a novel written about Plagueuis and concept art depicts at times similar to Supreme Leader Snoke, but it too has been demoted to Legends.

Seemingly Palpatine never is able to deliver on what Plagues had allegedly been able to do with the Force, but Anakin's own existence could easily rely on it, since it still has not been officially establish if someone created him or if this was Will of the Force on it's own. In addition another tie-in story taking place after Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Aftermath, gives more information that Sidious/Palpatine was looking for the source of the Dark Side. Now it's hard to say what that means exactly, but it could be a relic that allows for some kind of life extension, especially since there was no mentioning of it in The Force Awakens in relation to it's featured weapon, Star Killer Base.

What the new film manages to give us in terms of mythology, is that material objects, like a lightsaber, may also become part of the force by harboring memories of it's users to be passed onto to other force sensitive beings who come into contact with it. Aftemath also mentions a group called, The Acolytes of the Beyond, whom were collecting Vader relics including his lightsaber in order to try and "return" it to him in death. Remember, Ben Solo wanted Finn's lightsabder, seemingly knowing it belonged to Luke, and once Anakin.


So it seems like the potential for at least a belief of Darth Vader's return could still be a possible future plot with so many parallels between the collection of artifacts and ideologies that center around the legend of Vader and/or "life-beyond" itself. What's also curious is that the report that claims Hyden Christenson is returning to Episode VIII also mentions that he is "training" for the role, so as easy as at might of been to think his appearance might be that of the Spirit of Anakin Sywalker, it seems more likely his character will be more active. However, it has also been confirmed that his ghost was considered to appear, so we really may not be done with Anakin in this new trilogy!

Taking it a step further, what would this add to the story?

I think there are several reasons this could be an interesting, although familiar place to go. First there is the idea that Ben Solo idolizes Vader and not Anakin and since Luke "saved" him, if Aankin could somehow return to the land of the material world, whose side would Anakin be on? On a first glance, the obvious choice is that Anakin would be on the light side, as we have seen him return from the netherworld side by side with the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan at the end of Return of Jedi  and in the presence of Luke. JJ Abrams also explicitly stated that it is in fact Vader Ben worships, pointing out a kind of misdirection in terms of Ben not understanding or believing in the whole truth behind Vader's story. If he were resurrected, it might be very interesting to see if Ben would stay on the same path and/or wouldn't try to persuade Anakin to come back while also seeing Anakin redeem himself by helping Rey. But they could also play it another way.

They could go a kind of Frankenstein route, where somehow what returns to the land of the living isn't exactly Vader or Anakin, but something that is in rage from being unrested and will stop at nothing to destroy everything! This might allow a story where heroes and villains could collapse to come together in search of way to stop this entity...



Are we really done with Han Solo?

There has been no real confirmation as to if we will see Han Solo again, but 'Star Wars' is notorious for it's metaphysics in allowing people to appear again after death. We know from the first 6 films, that Jedi can be trained to be able to come back from the Netherworld and that other Jedi can be trained to communicate with them, but I am willing to bet in some cases it could happen more naturally depending on the Jedi involved.



But Han Solo was not a known Force-user, let alone a Jedi, so where does that leave him? Well first of all both Clone Wars and new cannon comic series give instances where a force user connects to a non force user. In Clone Wars and apparition of Shmi appears to Anakin when he is on a Force-sensitive planet. In Princess Liea #2 and Shattered Empire #3, Liea is on missions to Naboo when she sees a mural of her mother move and look at her. Post Return of the Jedi she starts to feel the presence of Darth Maul when in the Naboo Palace hanger deck. So there still is potential for Han to simply appear.

Other possibilities could also lies with character Maz Kanata. She appears to be a Force sensitive being, relying on her eyes looking into other eyes for insight. Very similar to Yoda, is she responsible for helping Rey begin to figure out whom she is and what she must do! It would be easy then, making such parallels to Yoda, that Maz could be strong with the Force and add new mythology onto the franchise. She could be a medium of sorts and/or have other meta-objects that may allow Rey to have more visions or ways of communicating...

But what also crossed my mind knowing the the ending of The Force Awakens was changed to Han Solo dying, instead of living and realizing that his death scene also has parallels not just to scenes from A New Hope, but to Empire Strikes Back, just as The Phantom Menace also does,that in those cases, both Darth Maul and Luke survive their deathly duels off high bridges and down long shafts!

Interestingly, Maz also has scenes and lines of dialogue cut from the film, despite seeing and hearing some of those scenes in the trailers. JJ Abrams sites that they were unnecessary, but I wonder if there is a correlation between the scenes cut and the choice to make Han Solo the catalyst that moves the new younger characters forward? If so, then maybe there is still hope that she was able to retrieve and heal Han Solo?! But if that were to happen, I think it would be in the story's best interest to hold off with it till episode IX to give Luke, Liea, and of course the new cast room to flourish on the screen.


And Going Back to The Prequels Again!?

As mentioned, The Force Awakens had some references and allusions to the prequel era, including seeing shades of Shmi and Anakin in both Rey and Kylo Ren and mentioning the Clone Wars by name, let alone those Dark Vader theories, but a new report also seems to point that there will be some kind of prequel-Clone War connection.



 According to this article from iDigitalTimes, sites news coming from Making Star Wars casting process, is  Rain Johnson's casting is relying on scripts from the Clone Wars TV series. In particular the report claims that they are looking for a connection from two well known Jedi whom sat on the High Jedi Council: Ki-Mundi and Plo Kloon.

Something else I would like to add to this, is also a connection from a character briefly seen and introduced in The Force Awakens, The Crimson Corsair! A new short story reveals that he and his pirates went looking for the lost treasure of Count Dooku, which was lost during The Clone Wars!

At very least I hope these reveals point to an interesting object or relic, perhaps a Jedi and Sith origin story, and maybe we'll get to see a few more Jedi or light side force users come into play!

Other News For Episode VIII

Captain Phasma is said to have bigger role and some back story revealed in Episode VIII. There isn't a lot to go on here, as she was kind of an underused villain, but one can definitely see similarities between her and Boba Fett, if that means anything. One theory I came across (No, this one is not mine) on the net, although I think sadly The Ewok Adventures may not be considered canon, is that Captain Phasma is Cindel Towani! It was just too good of a thought to not post, even if it's absolutely absurd (I mean, what happened to hTe Candle of Pure Light? LOL!)

Kathleen Kennedy has pretty much stated that all of main cast would be back for the next installment. We have already have had news of one scene being shot with Mark Hamill back on the Island, but you can expect to see Rey, Finn, Liea, Ben, Phasma, Hux, Snoke, BB-8, R2-D2, C-3PO,and hopefully Maz Kanata along with some additional new cast, including Benicio Del Toro when Episode VIII debuts in May 2017.


And My Own Other Crazy Theory:

Alright, so I didn't think much of the Benico Del Tero casting news when it first was announced, but when they mentioned Gugu Mbatha-Raw in a possible second female-lead role, it hit me that together they looked suddenly familiar! Journey to the Force Awakens tie-in comic, Shattered Empire, tells us a tale between husband and wife in the rebel alliance right after Return of the Jedi. This couple introduced is none other than Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, Poe Dameron's parents! One might ask outside of a lineage reveal, why else these two characters were introduced, which also lead me down this path.--- But for this theory to work, something would of had to of happend to Shara after this comic series ends--should Gugu Mbatha-Raw being playing her in order to allow the character to remain younger looking. An easy idea could be stasis; a more complicated one considering Del Toro is said to be somewhat villainous, might be if there would be a plot about bringing people back to life, and Shara is one of the first...or not! ;)