Star Wars fans were surprised and a bit confused upon learning that The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams said Rey and Kylo Ren have a "brother-sister thing" in Episode IX, especially after *that* scene. The truth about the characters' relationship has always been an apparent question amongst fans, hence Abrams' comments got people surprised. But as it turns out, the full context of his comment was completely mistaken.
This article contains potential SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The original question was asked by user @ar1aster on Twitter. The director was actually asked if he ever saw Rey and Kylo romantically since The Force Awakens, not specifically just in The Rise of Skywalker, to which Abrams' responded with the "brother-sister" quote.
If you missed it, the director said there was more of a sibling thing between Kylo Ren and Rey as there is a romantic thing in The Force Awakens. He made it clear that it wasn't a literal "sexually romantic kind of thing," they were just bound together in a "crazy spiritual way," which felt "romantic" to Abrams.
He then compared their relationship to Luke and Leia's in Empire Strikes Back. "It's like John Williams when he first wrote the Luke theme," Abrams said. It was a "romantic theme" for Luke and Leia since that was what Williams was thinking back then, not knowing the truth about their relationship yet.
The user also said that Abrams mentioned FinnRey and FinnPoe as an example of open-ended relationships. According to the user, the director basically admitted that they left everything "ambiguous" in The Force Awakens and didn't actually set anything up between the characters yet.
It seems like Abrams didn't set a romantic relationship between the two in TFA, much like Leia and Luke's because the writers didn't initially know about the two being siblings yet. This suggests that he is letting the next director go as they please and see where they'll take Rey and Kylo in the following film.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now showing in theaters.
Also Read: Star Wars Fans Aren't Happy with Rose's Screen Time in The Rise of Skywalker
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Star Wars: Episode IX