Star wars 8 or 9 will provide 'profundly satisfying' answer to Rey's parents question, JJ Abrams and Colin Trevorrow tease

'Rey is a character that is important in this universe, not just in the context of The Force Awakens, but in the entire galaxy.'

(Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Rey)

Of the myriad questions Star Wars: The Force Awakens leaves unanswered, the biggest is probably regarding the identity of Rey’s father and mother.

Thanks to the leaked screenplay, we know that Rey was left with Unkar Plutt on Jakku, and given his appearance we can safely say he is not part of her lineage.

Asked about her back story, TFA director JJ Abrams told TV show Roadies: “I know quite a bit.

“Obviously it’s not for me to talk about in this moment because this is Rian’s [Johnson, the Star Wars 8 director’s] story to continue now. The last thing I’m going to do is reveal something that he would be upset about. I want to make sure that Rian gets the courtesy that he showed me."

From screenplay: “A little girl. Rey as a child. She is sobbing, hysterical. Unkar Plutt’s meaty hand holds her thin arm. She is on Jakku, watching a starship fly into the sky, abandoning her.” Rey yells, “No, come back!” and Unkar Plutt responds, “Quiet, girl!” as the “ship flies towards the desert sun, which is strangely eclipsed, as if being eaten by darkness.”

Star Wars 9 director Colin Trevorrow was slightly more forthcoming.

“We’re going to make sure that that answer is deeply and profoundly satisfying,” he teased. “Rey is a character that is important in this universe, not just in the context of The Force Awakens, but in the entire galaxy.

“She deserves it. We’ll make sure that that answer is something that feels like it was something that happened a long time ago, far away, and we’re just telling you what happened.”

Fan theories over Rey’s parentage include Luke, Obi-Wan and many more key Star Wars figures.

Trevorrow’s words could be interpreted as meaning we won’t get an answer until his film, which would mean a deviation from the original trilogy in which we famously discovered who Luke’s father was in the second instalment, The Empire Strikes Back.

Last week, JJ Abrams explained how TFA’s narrative mirroring with the original trilogy was entirely intentional.