Star Wars Director J.J. Abrams Says Force Abilities Don’t Come From a Character’s Bloodline

Despite Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) declaration that Rey (Daisy Ridley) was nothing more than the child of two drunken junkers left behind in a desolate wasteland, Star Wars fans continue to hold on to the hope that the Jakku Orphan actually has ties to legacy characters like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) or Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness/ Ewan McGregor).

But does it really matter where Rey comes from? Do a character's Force abilities come from his/her bloodline?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams doesn't really think so. A Star Wars fan just recently went on Twitter to share pictures of what appears to be excerpts of an interview with Abrams taken from the Spanish language issue of Premiere Magazine. During the discussion, the filmmaker was asked whether Star Wars: The Last Jedi's message (that anyone from any background could become a powerful user) would be part of Episode IX.

"Yes, of course, keeping that message has been a priority. It is an absolute mistake to say that you have to be related to a particular person or bloodline to have power with the Force," the director said, "Since I was a child, one of the most moving things for me was to know what anyone could be a Jedi."

The Last Jedi's message was something new in the franchise. For the longest time, Star Wars was all about the Skywalker family and how their powers were passed on from generation to generation. If what Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) said was true and Rey really is the daughter of two drunken junkers, then that means that powerful Force users like the Jakku Orphan can come from anywhere, not just from legacy lines like the Skywalker's or like Kenobi's.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres December 20, 2019.

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