The rumours about Rey's parents in Star Wars debunked by Daisy Ridley

There were plenty of questions that were left unanswered in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the mystery fans are most eager to unravel is the identity of Rey's parents. When the first trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story landed online last week many speculated that there may be a connection between Daisy Ridley's heroine and Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso, but it looks like that theory was way off.

Ridley herself dismissed the rumours while at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards, stating "I’m not being funny you guys, but just because she’s white and got brown hair… it doesn’t mean she’s my mom".

Interestingly, the actress seems far less concerned about the identity of Rey's parents than we are. "To me, it's funny that people think [Rey's lineage] is so important, because I guess it is. But I don't really think it is because regardless of where you come from, where you go is the thing. You’re moving forward, and you can make a family, you can find people you love … the relationships that [Rey is] making now are kind of more important than where she comes from, but that’s just me."

The next time we'll see Rey will be in Star Wars: Episode 8, and Ridley teased a "darker" instalment while keeping tight-lipped on Rey's future (or past) jedi training; "I don’t know if I am a Jedi... I don’t think I am. We’ve had this debate as to whether Leia is because she uses her Force powers. Just because she’s not like, oh I’m going on an adventure like Luke doesn’t make her any less Forceful."

Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Laura Dern, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, and Benicio del Toro, Star Wars: Episode VIII opens in cinemas on December 15, 2017.

Images: Disney/Lucasfilm

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.