The first trailer for the next Star Wars movie, Rogue One, was recently released, and the internet has already taken to carefully analyzing every frame. There was a ton of awesomeness and a lot to take in, but without question, the aspect of the trailer drawing the most attention is the main character, Jyn Erso, portrayed by Felicity Jones. The reasons for this aren't only the character's apparent complete mastery of being a badass ("This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel"), but also because some think she's Rey's mom. But I'm here to say that Jyn Erso is not Rey's mother after all.
The reason to make the connection is certainly tempting. This is Star Wars after all, and family drama and secret connections are a big part of the tradition. Just think how less of an impact the story would have if Darth Vader had never revealed himself to be Luke Skywalker's father (and by contrast, how less icky it would have been if Luke had never revealed that he and make out partner Princess Leia were twins). But assuming that every character has to have a secret connection is a mistake, because after a while the connections become too expected. So here are 11 reasons why Jyn is definitely not Rey's mother.
1. Their Ages
In The Force Awakens, which takes place at least 35 years after Rogue One, Rey is around 19 years old. Assuming that Jyn is about 30 in the film (Jones turned 32 last October), that would put her in her mid-40s by the time she gave birth to Rey. Possible? Sure. Likely? Probably not.
2. The Timeline
As I just mentioned, there is a gap of at least 16 years between when Rey was born and when Jyn goes on her mission in Rogue One. That's a pretty decent chunk of time, and given that Jyn is nowhere to be seen in the original trilogy and maybe no longer active in the rebellion, it seems unlikely that she would still have enough people after her to facilitate her having to hide her kid on Jakku so long after her big mission.
3. Jyn Might Not Survive
There's a possibility that Jyn doesn't even live through the events of Rogue One. As I just mentioned, she's not a presence in the original trilogy, which takes place right after Rogue One. It's also known that a number of spies died on her Rogue One mission. And if she dies on her mission, she can't very well have a child 16 years later.
4. Jyn Is Not Force-Sensitive Like Rey
At least I don't think she is. Rogue One is being marketed as regular people, not Jedis, so if the main character of the film ends up being Force-sensitive that would kind of defeat the purpose. Rey, on the other hand, is very Force-sensitive, and odds are that she inherited that from her parents.
5. No Skywalker Connection
A lot of people still stink that Rey is either the daughter of Leia and Han or the daughter of Luke, and neither of those theories line up great with Jyn. It's technically possible that Jyn and Luke could have conceived Rey together, but again you have to look at the likelihood. Is it likely that Jedi Master Luke randomly met a much older hero of the Rebellion a decade and a half after the defeat of the Empire and had a kid with her? Probably not.
6. Rogue One Is A Standalone Movie
Rogue One is the first Star Wars anthology movie, meaning that it functions as a standalone separate from the main episodic saga. It's obviously still connected to the other films, but introducing the mother of the main saga's protagonist in a standalone film seems like too big of a connection to make.
7. It's Too Expected
Jyn and Rey kind of look alike. They kind of talk alike. And they have similar personalities. Therefore, people were obviously going to assume that they were related. But it's definitely possible that Disney did this on purpose to misdirect fans from guessing the true identity of Rey's parents.
8. There Are No Clues In The Force Awakens
If Jyn were Rey's mother, there would probably be at least some reference to her in The Force Awakens. But there isn't.
9. Not Everyone Has To Be Connected
I know I said that family connections are an important part of Star Wars lore, and that's true, but everybody doesn't have to be connected. How weird would it be if every family connection theory turned out to be true? Jyn is Rey's mother. Lando is Finn's father. Chewbacca is Wicket's dad. OK, I made that last one up, but seriously, how small is this galaxy where everyone important person is related?
10. Others Would Know
If Jyn were Rey's mother, other characters (like Leia) would likely know about this, and would probably tell Rey, because what would be the purpose of keeping it a secret from her? I get why Luke's parentage would be kept a secret, because he's in hiding from the First Order and his discovery would be bad news for the Resistance, but I don't see the big deal in telling Rey about Jyn, a non-powered person now in her 60s who committed a crime against an Empire who's no longer in power.
11. Daisy Ridley Said She's Not
In an interview with MTV, Rey actress Ridley said that she does know who Rey's parents are, and it's not Jyn. "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," Ridley said.
So there you have it. 11 reasons why Jyn Erso is not Rey's mom in the Star Wars universe — but that doesn't make her any less awesome.
Images: Disney/Lucasfilm; giphy.com
