00:00Alright my friends, this video is not scripted. I didn't even make a list of bullet points like I usually do, I'm just gonna go for it.
00:08I have quite a few things I want to say, and I thought it'd be best if I did this off the cuff, so I'm just talking to you guys as if you were in front of me.
00:16And as you probably know, there have been some Star Wars Starfighter rumours going round.
00:21They originated with John Rocker, and I covered them a few days ago, and they've been generating a lot of outrage.
00:27It wasn't the leaks themselves, but rather what was added to them.
00:31I'm gonna talk about the Rey situation and new developments in just a moment, but first, a few of you guys have actually made me change my mind about something.
00:40So a couple of days ago, there was a rumour that Amy Adams is playing a former Jedi.
00:45It just says Jedi, some say former Jedi, some say current Jedi, but whatever the case, people are saying she was once part of Luke's Jedi Academy, a survivor of the devastation.
00:55And so people started speculating, well, what if she wasn't just a student?
01:00What if she was Luke's lover?
01:01What if she's going to be the canon version of Mara Jade Skywalker?
01:06What if Luke and Amy's character got separated, and something convinced Luke that she was dead?
01:12And so suddenly, his exile on Arcteau isn't just about Ben Solo, it's about his wife.
01:18And what if the character being played by Flynn Grey is Luke's son?
01:22Now, two days ago, when I spoke about this, I told you guys to not get your hopes up that Amy Adams, because she's ginger, because she's playing a Jedi, that she's going to necessarily be Mara Jade.
01:32And like I've said in the past, Disney Star Wars likes going their own way.
01:36I don't expect a huge, expanded universe connection like this.
01:40But, the more I read about the theory, the more I realised they might decide to take the archetype of Mara Jade and create a new character based on her.
01:49I've been thinking about this theory quite a lot, and something I didn't realise the last time I spoke about this, is how close the two ages of the characters are.
01:58Luke died at the age of 53, whereas Amy Adams, and I assume her character, are 51.
02:03I guess the most glaring problem with this, is they're going to have to explain why she wasn't referenced even once, in any of the sequel movies.
02:11I'm trying not to get too excited, I'm trying not to say this is definitely what's going to happen, but to be honest, it's a way for Luke's legacy after his death, to also live on.
02:20It is a cool idea, and even back in 2020, I was saying how I hope the Mandoverse fills in some of the gaps of why Luke was so depressed.
02:28It had to be more than Ben Solo becoming Kylo Ren, and this is a way they could go about it.
02:33However, I'd be very surprised if the character was called Mara Jade.
02:37But there is also a new situation with Rey, one which has emerged after Rocker's original report.
02:44Josh Aden of Nerds has heard that Rey is going to be at the end of the movie.
02:48The original rumour is that Amy Adams is a Jedi.
02:52Her son, being played by Flynn Grey, also has the Force, and along with his uncle Ryan Gosling, the two embark on a mission.
02:59This is when Den of Nerds chimed in, and added,
03:02The mission is for Ryan Gosling to deliver the boy to Rey's Jedi Order.
03:07And since this came out, Star Wars fans absolutely hate this.
03:11Understandably.
03:12If it's true, and it's a big if, we've had no confirmation from reliable scoopers, it's disappointing, but not surprising.
03:20And those fans who are surprised, and who say this is the end of the world, Star Wars is surely dead, have not been paying attention to what's been going on.
03:28Because this should not surprise you.
03:31Given comments by Kathleen Kennedy, given the trajectory of Lucasfilm, given the way they don't care what fans think, this shouldn't come as a surprise.
03:38But the reason it does, is because around the start of 2025, we were given what I describe as a glimmer of hope.
03:46It seemed like Lucasfilm might have been changing their plans.
03:48Let me take you through the series of events.
03:51At Star Wars Celebration in 2023, Charmina Baitranoy's Rey movie is announced, Daisy Ridley comes onto the stage,
03:59the big headline was that Rey is back, and while there were several movies announced,
04:03it sounded like Rey was going to be the future of Star Wars on the big screen.
04:07Kathleen Kennedy said it, The Hollywood Reporter said it, Rey was the future of the movie side of the franchise.
04:13And fans shrugged, and they said,
04:15with the exceptions of Dave Filoni's film, James Mangold's movie,
04:19Lucasfilm once again are not listening to the fans.
04:22And so, hope was lost.
04:23And for a good part of 2024, that was the sentiment.
04:27Rey is going to be in a new trilogy, she's going to be in her own standalone.
04:30Kathleen Kennedy is pushing Rey to the max.
04:33But then, and this is where fans started to have a bit more hope,
04:37the situation with the Rey movie got really bad.
04:39Writers were being fired and replaced, there was no script,
04:43Daisy kept saying she didn't know what the situation was,
04:45and then, they announced The Mandalorian in Grogu,
04:48a movie which didn't even exist as part of the state announced that celebration.
04:53So then the conversation shifted from Rey's The Future, to Rey's on the Backburner.
04:58And so even though it was a minuscule change,
05:00Star Wars fans, who were holding on to any shred of hope,
05:04were saying, okay, you know what, if they can pull this off,
05:07we have something to cling on to.
05:09It's not all doom and gloom.
05:11And so fast forward to late 2024, early 2025.
05:15Fans were exhausted.
05:17Fan apathy reached an all-time high.
05:19The Acolytes was extremely divisive.
05:21Skeleton crew was amazing, but didn't get the viewership it deserved.
05:24And all season two was on the horizon.
05:27That was obviously very big.
05:28Revenge of the Sith's 20th.
05:30But in terms of Star Wars movie updates,
05:32Stephen Knight had walked away from the Rey movie.
05:35But around the same time, late 2024,
05:38the Simon Kinberg trilogy was announced.
05:40But I don't think fans took that seriously.
05:42It sounded like it was years and years away.
05:44And then, we had the rumours that Kathy Kennedy was about to leave Lucasfilm.
05:49This sparked a lot of pre-emptive celebration.
05:51But then Kathy Kennedy herself gave an interview to debunk the rumours.
05:55I didn't buy what she said.
05:57Most fans didn't.
05:58And the current speculation is she's gonna step down in 2026.
06:02But when she gave her interview to address all of these claims,
06:05she spoke about the future of Star Wars movies and what was to come.
06:08She mentioned The Mandalorian and Grogu.
06:10Even the Taika Waititi movie.
06:12But nothing about Rey.
06:14Absolutely zero about what was coming after Episode 9.
06:20And so, in the minds of fans, that solidified the shift.
06:24I made videos about it.
06:25I said Lucasfilm is finally waking up.
06:27They're recognising that fans didn't respond well to Rey.
06:31And that's when fans started talking about the Sean Levy movie.
06:34We kind of assumed it was going to be set sometime after Episode 7, 8 and 9.
06:38But it didn't sound like it had anything to do with Rey.
06:42So, then we come to Star Wars Celebration.
06:44April 2025 in Japan.
06:47I know by this point, fans had walked out in droves.
06:50But for those of us who have stuck around,
06:52who hope for better Star Wars and hope for better days,
06:54Star Wars Celebration was largely a breath of fresh air.
06:57A preview for The Mandalorian and Grogu,
06:59Ahsoka Season 2,
07:01Maul's Shadow Lord,
07:02and the announcement of Star Wars Starfighter.
07:05No mention of Rey.
07:06We'd already been hearing some cast rumours.
07:08So, there was this assumption we were in the clear.
07:11Then, moving on.
07:11And Kathleen Kennedy didn't mention Rey once,
07:14in any interview she gave,
07:16throughout the entirety of the biggest,
07:18most important Star Wars showcase of the year.
07:20She didn't talk about Daisy,
07:22Charmaine,
07:23George Nolfi,
07:24who is the latest writer of the movie.
07:26Nothing.
07:26And so, things were looking up.
07:28The Mandalorian and Grogu,
07:30and Star Wars Starfighter were coming first.
07:32The Rey movie would not release,
07:34until 2028,
07:36at the very earliest.
07:37And I think fans could live with that.
07:39But what I'm now realising,
07:41with all of the recent rumours,
07:42like I say,
07:43if they're true,
07:44is that Kathleen Kennedy might be trying to repackage Rey.
07:48Backdoor her,
07:49sorry, that sounded wrong,
07:50Trojan horse her,
07:52into an unrelated story.
07:54Sean Levy's movie,
07:55which originally,
07:56might not have had anything to do with Rey.
07:58But honestly guys,
08:00if these rumours are to be believed,
08:02it's almost like a meme.
08:03Star Wars fans for years had been saying,
08:05Kathleen Kennedy wants to force Rey onto us.
08:08No matter what,
08:09all roads lead to the sequel trilogy.
08:11All roads lead to Rey.
08:13I was sceptical,
08:14and I said look,
08:15eventually Lucasfilm is going to get the memo.
08:17But if this is true,
08:18if they do this,
08:20in a really sneaky and bizarre decision,
08:22for whatever reason,
08:23they might be trying to force feed us Rey,
08:25at the end of a 90 or 120 minute movie,
08:28that had nothing to do with her.
08:30That would be the most crazy business decision.
08:33It's almost like Kathy's trying to justify,
08:35why she'll bring her back again,
08:37after Starfighter.
08:38She'll say that because Starfighter's box office was good,
08:40because fans vibed with most of the movie,
08:43and Rey just so happened to make a cameo in it,
08:46will bring her back for more projects.
08:47But what I do just want to clarify,
08:49and maybe by this point,
08:50I'm foolish for saying this,
08:52is let's not jump the gun.
08:54All the signs are there,
08:55but we shouldn't just write off a movie that is two years away,
08:58because of a very early rumour,
09:00and the movie's only a month into production.
09:02And look,
09:03I'm not the biggest fan of Rey,
09:05but maybe they know what to do with her.
09:07Maybe it turns out her brief appearance at the end of the film,
09:09works really well.
09:11And here's the thing,
09:12and I specifically want to address those,
09:14who are surprised by this.
09:16Even if Lucasfilm didn't go near Rey for a decade,
09:18even if they decided,
09:20we're going to divert,
09:21we're going to make Star Wars that fans want to see,
09:23the sequel trilogy is there to stay.
09:25Rey is around during this time,
09:27that is unavoidable.
09:28It'd be even stranger,
09:30if there were no allusions to the Resistance,
09:32and to wider sequel characters.
09:34This isn't 2020 anymore.
09:36Any hopes we might have had,
09:38and I was one of them,
09:39for the sequel trilogy to be put on a separate timeline,
09:42to be retconned,
09:44is long gone.
09:45The sequels are here to stay.
09:47Lucasfilm is never going to say,
09:48they no longer count.
09:50And so I guess,
09:51if you're going to enjoy Star Wars going forward,
09:53you either have to ignore this time period,
09:55or make your peace with it.
09:56And I know that's really harsh to say.
09:58I wasn't a fan of the sequels.
10:00There are some bits and bobs which are cool ideas,
10:02but generally speaking,
10:04it's my least favourite trilogy.
10:05But I still acknowledge,
10:07especially now with these rumours,
10:09and Kathleen Kennedy's insistence,
10:11on this character,
10:12that Rey is here to stay.
10:14So those are just some of my thoughts.
10:16Let me know yours in the comments down below.
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