Did Rise of Skywalker's big Rey reveal create a Star Wars plot hole?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker might have wrapped up the Skywalker Saga, but it left some mysteries from the sequel trilogy unanswered.

The most enduring mystery of those is just how Maz Kanata ended up with Luke Skywalker's missing lightsaber, the one that previously belonged to his father Anakin Skywalker.

Not only did The Rise of Skywalker not address this mystery, but the movie's major Rey reveal potentially introduced a plot hole to the mystery as well.

As everyone knows, The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Rey was far from "nothing" and was actually the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine.

While she never really came close to succumbing to the temptations of the Dark Side, Rey does technically have a bit of the Dark Side in her due to her father being a failed clone of Palpatine.

So if that's the case, then why is it that Luke's lost lightsaber called to her if she's actually a Palpatine?

And the visions she saw were mostly of Kylo Ren's history (bar the one of her being abandoned on Jakku), so could it be that the lightsaber should really have been calling to Kylo Ren instead?

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After all, he is Anakin's grandson and Anakin did use the lightsaber when he was slaughtering Jedi, so it's taken part in Dark Side antics and wouldn't be against calling to Kylo Ren.

If the lightsaber could sense that Rey was a Palpatine – and it seems it was an open secret with Luke and Leia – then it technically doesn't make sense that it'd call to her.

However, this is actually an easy fix and not a plot hole as such.

The lightsaber or, more accurately, the kyber crystal inside it could have sensed that Rey was on the Light Side and was destined to bring balance to the Force, much like Anakin was prophesied to do.

As much as Star Wars loves a family drama, Rey's bloodline doesn't actually matter to the lightsaber. It's more about what she will eventually go on to do that it senses and therefore it calls to her.

She needs to meet Luke Skywalker as part of her journey and having his lightsaber is a way to nudge her in the right direction.

But wait, we hear you say, Kylo Ren also (eventually) turned to the Light Side, so perhaps the lightsaber should have actually called to a Skywalker and not a Palpatine, even if that Skywalker was evil at that moment in time.

And to that, we point you to the other Rise of Skywalker reveal of Rey and Ben Solo being a Force dyad, so perhaps the lightsaber was calling to Kylo Ren as well and just went with whoever showed up first.

These solutions might feel like retcons to a trilogy arc that wasn't entirely thought out (if you were being kind), but unlike some other plot holes, at least there is an explanation for them.

But if they're not enough for you, then feel free to chalk up the lightsaber mystery as another plot hole in the Star Wars universe.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out now on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD and digital download. It will land on Disney+, Sky Cinema and NOW TV on May 4.

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Ian Sandwell

Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor.  Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world.   After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.