WMG / The Force Awakens

For any wild theories you have after seeing the film, please go to the Post-Release page.

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Pre-release theories

There will be a mild Retcon or Discontinuity Nod in the upcoming movies as a way of appeasing the fans.

Probably something like Han Solo saying "I always shoot first" or someone saying that midi-chlorians are simply attracted to Force-sensitive individuals.

• Jossed.

Rhen Var will be a location in the upcoming sequel trilogy

The Battlefront series^note (at least the two main games) is based on characters and locations featured in the original and prequel trilogies. Rhen Var from the original Battlefront is the odd one out, since it never appeared once in any of the first six movies. Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that it will appear at some point in Episodes VII-IX.

• To lend credence to this theory, there is evidence that Disney did some filming in Iceland, and word on the street is that the planet it's meant to represent isn't Hoth.
• With news that the First Order had this ice planet turned into their new base/superweapon called Starkiller Base, it is reasonable to assume that this planet used to be Rhen Var until these new guys came along to turn it into their stronghold.
  • Jossed. It was Ilum.

Mara Jade will be featured or mentioned in the new trilogy.

She will be featured as the mother of Luke Skywalker's son, Ben Skywalker or otherwise.

• Even regarding the Canon Discontinuity status of the old EU, there seems to be significant evidence that Mara Jade might be involved in future Star Wars projects as an Unexpected Character after all! To summarize the main points of the article:
  • The "Legends" announcement said that it will not tell the same story as post-Jedi works. However, that does not mean that absolutely nothing from the Expanded Universe will be integrated into the film and/or spin-offs, and the Lucasfilm Story Group behind the new Expanded Universe have even said that they would be willing to let the writers use old EU material for inspiration.
  • In the rough draft for Lucas's planned Sequel Trilogy, he specifically said that Luke would have a romantic companion. For the movie currently being made, it's strongly implied by the whole Passing the Torch theme that both the production itself and the actual movie seem to carry would be supported by Luke having a wife and child(ren).
  • When asked about shaving her head for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) (a film also produced by Disney), actress Karen Gillan (a redhead) noted that her long hair was to be turned into a wig that was specifically given to the Star Wars creative team. Curious, considering Mara's hair is red and fairly long.
  • Due to Executive Meddling, Hasbro has been instructed not to create new action figures based on the old Expanded Universe or re-release old figures based on Expanded Universe toys... With the sole exception of Mara Jade, who appears in Hasbro's current "Black Series" line. This would strongly imply that Disney has plans for her.
  • Rumors indicate that Mara Jade will indeed be appearing in Star Wars Rebels as a way to tie the show to Episode VII, given that she works for the Empire during that time. Whether or not this is happening before or after the release of the movie is up for debate, but it would allow for a greater link between non-film content and the films themselves than Star Wars: The Clone Wars did for the prequels (The Clone Wars, incidentally, re-worked a lot of the Expanded Universe to fit into canon, which is a lot like Disney's approach). It also wouldn't be the first time Lucasfilm Animation pulled an Unexpected Character into the mix - remember Darth Maul?
  • Of the above rumors, one of them posits that Mara Jade will be introduced as a Walking Spoiler-type character in Episode VII that will not be advertised until after the film is released, and will be introduced in Rebels as a major character. Said rumor also states that the actress playing the character is being kept under wraps - not inconceivable when you consider that Domhnall Gleeson managed to keep the fact that he was cast from his family for weeks, and that a pair of new actresses were announced a while after the initial cast was revealed. It also wouldn't be the first time that Disney kept a major plot twist under wraps to a degree that nobody spoiled it until after the movie came out.
  • A novel based on Imperial leader Grand Moff Tarkin is rumored to feature Mara Jade (an in the Expanded Universe, he was one of the few who knew about the Emperor's Hand, the group she was associated with), and a Luke Skywalker novel is slated for him to have an as-of-yet mysterious unknown female companion. The possibility's still out there.
  • Domhnall Gleeson bears some resemblance to Mark Hamill, and it's possible that he may be his kid in the movie. But the cherry on top is that he has red hair, and that he (a less famous actor) was chosen over more famous actors (Ryan Gosling and Alex Pettyfer) for the role.
  • Sigourney Frickin' Weaver (also a redhead) apparently talked with J. J. Abrams about potentially having a role in the film. Mara Jade is close to Luke Skywalker's age in the Expanded Universe, and Sigourney Weaver's age is close to Mark Hamill's.
  • Last and least, Mara Jade was a major Ensemble Dark Horse in the Expanded Universe, having been featured consistently in nearly 25 years' worth of Star Wars works. Keep in mind that less important EU characters made their way into The Clone Wars. Not to mention that Rebels now has Thrawn, another of Timothy Zahn's most well-known additions to the Legends continuity. It sets precedent at the very least.
    • The wig part of the theory may not hold water anymore, at least according to this.
  • Jossed.

Episode VIII will have a Skywalker/Solo offspring have their arm dismembered during a Lightsaber duel.

You have to hand it to the Skywalkers - they know a thing or two about losing limbs.

• God damnit, Barb!
• Jossed.

They will use hardly any of the EU in Episode VII, VIII, and IX

Instead they'll pick and choose what elements they like and use it, otherwise disregard what was in the EU. Get stuff that was a given at the end of RotJ done, i.e. Han and Leia get together, Luke figures out and manage the future of the Jedi way, the Empire government is dismantled to form some kind of Republic/Federation/Confederacy/Democratic whatever, et cetera. They'll create a whole new story.

• Episode VII – Get a democratic government in place, stomp out what is remaining of the empire standing in the way of this, introduce a subplots about Luke and Leia trying to find out the identity of their mother and Leia learning the basics of the force.
• Episode VIII – Gov established, Leia struggling with being overwhelmed by commitments to both her brother and the shaky new government, Han Solo does something, Luke&Leia learn the identity of their mother. and there's problems with the old imperial guards. Luke meets a redheaded ex guard who wholeheartedly believes in the empire…
• Episode IX – One notable difference between the EU and these movies is that it is ambiguous whether or not Mara Jade is force sensitive or not. She shows hint's of the clairvoyance associated with force wielders - she has fast reflexes and talents developed as if on instincts – but there is no reference to her being trained in a position such as one of the emperor's hands and it is never under consideration for her to be trained by Luke, and she never shows any of the flashy powers such as being able to communicated with the souls of dead Jedi or telekinesis, nor does she ever pick up a lightsaber. Anyways, Luke manages to convince her that while it has its problems, freedom and democracy is better than the empire. Leia figures out how to cope, and the line about Padme and her family comes to and end when Luke and Leia meet her family: her parents (if they haven't died of old age) her sister, and nieces, they're given personalities instead of existence like from the deleted scene in Episode II.
• Confirmed. The old EU was declared non-canon.

Lando will return in Episode VIII.

It looks like he won't be in Episode VII, so let's hope that he returns for the next movie.

• Jossed. He returns in Epsiode IX.

Daisy Ridley's character will be the movie equivalent of Jaina Solo.

• Pretty much Jossed as the word is that she's playing an orphaned scavenger making a living in a junkyard on Tatooine. She will have no connection to Han or Leia so has nothing in common with Jaina. Who was their daughter and lived on Coruscant.
  • Unless there is some reason she was split up with them. It just seems too obvious that they picked an actress that looks somewhat like Carrie Fisher and Natalie Portman only to not be related.
  • Possibly backed up by this interview with JJ Abrams. Here, scenes between Rey and Han are described as "sweet" while scenes between Finn and Han are described as tense and funny. Doesn't that sound a lot like a father meeting his daughter's new boyfriend?
  • Although if certain rumors and recent pieces of merchandise are to be believed Finn is Lando's son which could easily explain his and Han's awkward dynamic.
  • Jossed.

Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker will return.

He's the Series Mascot. He died at the end of Episode VI but is the franchise's most marketable character. We'll get some explanation of how he came back, whether good or evil, and whether very well-explained or some sort of Ass Pull. Given that J.J. Abrams is directing, the general public will likely think the former^note Abrams' body of work is very well-reviewed and well-liked with mainstream audiences and nostalgic original trilogy fans will think the latter^note as in Star Trek Into Darkness.

• Anakin will probably make an appearance as a reoccurring force ghost like Obi-wan did.
  • Or we could have a series of GCW-era flashbacks where "evil armored Vader" appears, for the sake of having Darth Vader be a prominent presence in the movie and justifying his having a zillion different action figures in the Episode VII toyline.
• Concept art showing Darth Vader's burned helmet has circulated around the internet. While Anakin Skywalker is dead, the iconic armor of Darth Vader may live on. Of course, Anakin could pop up again as a Force Spirit.
• Jossed. He only appears as a vocal cameo in Rise of Skywalker.
• Alternatively...

Palpatine will return in the Sequel Trilogy, or at the very least his impact on the Galaxy will be the overall storyline.

He's been the Big Bad for 6 movies straight, I doubt a new villain with different motives (ignoring the EU) would be the main threat.

• He deliberately sends a clone to oversee the Vader vs. Luke battle and that clone died instead and he went into hiding with any remnants.
• People in-the-know have called bullshit on the Latino-Review theory that supported this, but it's yet to be seen if it's officially debunked.
• Confirmed.

Darth Plagueis will be involved in the sequel trilogy.

But to what extent is uncertain.

• Jossed.

The Republic will turn on the Jedi yet again.

They won't be wiped out like Order 66, but the Republic will deem the Jedi Order unnecessary for some reason.

• Jossed. The Republc gets wiped out.

Yoda will be the only Force Ghost out of the three in Episode VI to visit Luke and give him advice.

Alec Guinness is dead, and fans would rage if Hayden Christensen appeared as Anakin's ghost again. Frank Oz is still alive and can voice Yoda's ghost. Plus, Yoda is very iconic.

• Hopefully Anakin/Vader will appear in some fashion, whether it be a flashback or as a Force Ghost.
• Confirmed in ''The Last Jedi, though the others make vocal cameos

Obi-Wan Kenobi in Force Ghost form will appear as a CGI Alec Guinness being voiced and mo-capped by Ewan McGregor.

Technology has gotten advanced enough to allow for this and the Force Ghost filter will make the CGI Alec Guinness look unreal enough to avert Unintentional Uncanny Valley. Ewan McGregor returns to voice him since he was Obi-Wan in the Prequel Trilogy.

• Possibly confirmed (though I'd take this with a mountain of salt) I remember reading somewhere during early production that Ewan McGregor was in talks with the company to reprise his role as Obi-Wan (or in this case, his Force Ghost) in one of the upcoming films. This was years ago and I can't find the source, so don't take this as fact.
• Jossed. He only makes vocal cameos.

Luke will not be married.

George Lucas said that Luke getting married was not part of his vision, though it is part of the Expanded Universe.

• You have to keep in mind that at the time he made that statement, he'd undergone a divorce that induced a Creator Breakdown. He's Happily Married now, and given that Anakin and Padme tied the knot in Episode II, marriage is still within the realm of possibility Not to mention that his perception of his "vision" has changed quite a bit over the years.
• The main cast has been announced, and the only woman in Episode VII apart from Carrie Fisher is Daisy Ridley, who is much younger than Mark Hamill. I doubt that they would be married. If they were, it would be gross.
  • Several more women have since been cast, so it's possible he may have been married during the Time Skip, and there might be an actress whose presence in the film hasn't been revealed yet. Or, possibly, that Luke's wife died offscreen after bearing children.
• Confirmed.

Luke will be a widower.

Carrie Fisher is the only woman in the main cast near Mark Hamill's age, and Leia is his sister. Daisy Ridley will probably play one of the Solo children or perhaps a daughter that Luke has had with his deceased wife.

• Jossed. He never married.

The Jedi Academy will be featured.

• Partially confirmed. It's only shown in a flashback being destroyed.

Luke removed the flesh on his bionic hand on purpose.

Right now general consensus seems to be that he simply didn't have the materials for its upkeep and theories to that point to some kind of self-imposed exile. However the film will reveal that Luke removed the flesh covering himself to act as a reminder of what he almost became and how easy and how constant it is to be tempted by the Dark Side.

• Unknown either way.

Darth Plagueis will return in the Sequel Trilogy.

In the novel, Palpatine experienced a "monumental disturbance in the Force" after murdering Plagueis, worrying that his master's spirit had somehow survived "and would return at any moment to exact vengeance on his treacherous apprentice". He dismissed it once he found out about Darth Maul's apparent death, believing this to be the disturbance. However, Darth Maul never actually died, so what was this peculiar uneasiness he felt? Palpatine's initial thoughts could very well have been right.

• Traitorous apprentices is standard operating procedure for the Sith. Plagueis knew what's coming since he signed up. No reason to be pissed off about it.
• Jossed,

Episode VIII title guesses.

• The Power of Anger. ("Fear leads to anger.")
• Attack of the Clones and The Empire Strikes Back both refer to attacking or retaliating. The same could apply with episode VIII.
  • Going with this, the title will be Charge of the Dark to fit with the theme of the Sequel Trilogy being more focused on the nature of the Force and the title of the previous film explicitly referencing the Force. This title references the Dark Side of the Force.
• Return of the Empire Could deal with the return of the Empire but in a more enticing form. Strict , but fair. Powerful but even handed. Composed of multiple planets and races , the new Republic could run the risk of losing to the more attractive lure of Order and peace by any means. When planets start defecting to the Empire willingly the Republic must question what lines it will cross to maintain its mandate.
• Into Darkness, No, Really, This Time We Mean It. It is a J.J. Abrams sequel, after all.
• Heir to the Empire: A reference to Snoke (who hopefully will appear in-person in Episode VIII) inheriting Palpatine's position as leader of the First Order, rather than a reference to Grand Admiral Thrawn.
  • Heir to the Force: As the Force has awakened again, its champion (regardless of Light or Dark Side alignment) will be revealed.
• The Republic Strikes Back
• All of these are Jossed — the official title is The Last Jedi.

Episode IX title guesses.

• Rise of the Hatred. (..."anger leads to hate...")
• Revelations of the Force. Every third movie of each trilogy so far has began with an "R" word, followed by "of the," and then "Jedi" or "Sith." Revelations of the Force could reveal that there are gray areas between the light side and the dark side. For example, one may use Force lightning if their intentions are good.
  • Going with this, the title will be Restoration of the Light to fit with the theme of the Sequel Trilogy being more focused on the nature of the Force and the title of the first film of the sequel trilogy explicitly referencing the Force. This title references the Light Side of the Force.
  • Rise of the Force.
• Champions of the Force: A more deliberate reference to the same-named Expanded Universe novel from Legends
  • Champions of the Galaxy: Applicable to all parties, Light and Dark Side; not a reference to Guardians of the Galaxy
• All of these are Jossed — the official title is The Rise of Skywalker.

Lumiya (or her movie counterpart) will appear in the sequel trilogy as "The Dragon" antagonist underneath the Big Bad.

• Jossed.

Star Wars Expanded Universe authors sensed this in the Force.

Even once Episode VI was done and confirmed to be the last film (by Lucasfilm), Expanded Universe authors continued to focus on the past, not doing much work set in the future, much less extrapolating nearly as far forward as they did backward. They must have known that the sequel trilogy would come by some form or another... Unfortunately, they were not strong enough in the Force to foresee exactly how, so they assumed they could make stories that the sequels would be compatible with.

• Jossed.

Fan response to the announced cast led to the casting of Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie.

When the cast was announced, people complained that there were not enough female characters. As a result, two more actresses were added, and there may have been quick rewrites to incorporate their characters.

• Abrams did say casting was still an ongoing process on May 4th, shortly after the initial cast announcement.
  • A statement from Lupita Nyong'o made it sound as though this had been decided for some time and kept secret so it probably wasn't because of fan response.

Jar Jar Binks has become a wizened old man and taken Yoda's place on Dagobah.

Because the fans love to whine about him, and would secretly be sad if he wasn't there to complain about.

• Jar Jar spent a lot of time surrounded by Jedi. I like the idea that he could become a mentor to young Jedi despite not being a Force-user himself.
• Jossed. He is never even mentioned.

Ahsoka will end up frozen in carbonite from Darth Vader.

Then in the sequel trilogy eventually a hidden bunker will be found filled with characters frozen in carbonite. These will be who Darth Vader had picked as his future Inquisitors. Ahsoka will be there to help better tie the cartoons into the canon and she will either hold a vendetta against the Skywalker family for all Anakin has done to mess up her life after his fall, or she helps Luke train future Jedi.

• Jossed. She only makes a vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.

There will be a new threat, directed at the living force...

Let's be honest, if you live in the Star Wars verse, wouldn't you be pissed at periods of peace shattered by Darkside / Lightside conflicts and prophecies? What if in the new movie the Galaxy has had enough? Using cybernetics to empower a cult of followers determined to destroy the living force once and for all, putting the fate of the Galaxy not in those empowered by this mysterious force but in its citizens for good or ill. Can Luke stop them? Will he be desperate to ally with an ancient Sith Force to stand against this new threat? And in the end, should he?

• So an Expy of Darth Traya, then?
• Jossed.

Abeloth, or her movie counterpart will be in the sequel trilogy.

Now that the Clone Wars show is canon, The Ones (Father, Son and Daughter) are canon as well, but there was no mention of a "Mother".

• Jossed.

Ahsoka Tano will make an appearance as a member of Luke's rebuilt Jedi Order.

She would about 70 during the sequel trilogy, which is plenty young for a Jedi. She would only be a minor character, on par with the background Jedi Council characters from the prequel trilogy. It'd be a nice way of giving some closure of her fate for The Clone Wars fans without being intrusive to the fans who only watch the movies.

• Jossed. She only makes a vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.

A major plot point in the beginning of the movie is that Luke Skywalker is the Last of His Kind.

The new leads when they refer to him will give him the title of "The Last Jedi." This will then lead nicely into the plot point of more and more Force Sensitives appearing as the Force Awakens.

• Technically confirmed.

The Big Bad will be from a group/order that is not the Sith, but a threat that the old Jedi Order dealt with prior to the prequels. Qui-Gon Jinn will appear as a Force Ghost to warn Luke and company of the returning threat

It's inevitable that there be some kind of direct link to connect the prequel and original trilogies; Qui-Gon is one element that the fandom is least likely to gripe about. Even though he's not announced as a cast member, Liam Neeson could make an unannounced cameo, or appear in Episode VIII or IX.

• Jossed.

Kessel, or at least the Kessel Run, will be shown on-screen.

Thus explaining how that "less than twelve parsecs" thing works, now that the Maw isn't necessarily part of canon.

• Jossed. It appears in Solo.

If there is an Imperial Remnant group in the new canon, familiar names will pop up.

Even if they don't appear on-screen, there will be a couple of name-drops of Remnant figures from the "Legacy" timeline, such as:

• Natasi Daala
• Warlord Zsinj
• Ysanne Isard
• Gilad Pellaeon
• Soontir Fel
• Galak Fyyar
  • All Jossed.

If Luke has a wife, she will be a film-original character.

She may or may not be inspired by some Expanded Universe character, such as Mara Jade, but won't be adapted directly from it.

• Jossed. He isn't married.

Yoda's race will FINALLY be revealed at last

If not in Episode VII then in either Episode VIII or Episode IX.

• Jossed.

Unlike the last film there will be certain repercussions that happen to Luke, when someone finds out about his father.

When Luke confessed it to Leia along with their blood connection, all she did was break down, but she got over it pretty quickly. (At least onscreen.) Someone else close to Luke, might not take it as well as her and may even try to kill Luke on the grounds that he is Vader's son.

• Jossed, though the EU established that Leia's political career was ruined once the news came out.

Chopper will make a cameo

An actual functioning remote-controlled prop of Chopper was made for events and such. It probably wouldn't be too hard for him to make a cameo, whether in the background, or in a scene where he further antagonizes Artoo.

• Jossed.

Mortis, the "Force Planet", or both will play a major role in the Sequel Trilogy

These two "planets" (if Mortis could really be considered a planet, it could have been in a different universe or plane of existence) were some of the most interesting locations in the Clone Wars tv series. The fact that they are canon now brings up new mysteries and questions about the nature of the Force itself. Even the midi-chlorians have a new air of mystery about them after having been revealed to have originated from the "Force Planet". If either of these two mysterious, trippy places play a role, it likely won't be until the second or third movie, where new revelations will be made.

• Jossed.

The Force Awakens will refer...

That for 30+ years there has been no sign of the force outside of Luke Skywalker. Imagine Luke attempting to rebuild the Jedi but finding no other Force Sensitive's out in the Universe. Imagine a just formed New Republic relying on Luke again and again to use his abilities to help create the Republic. Until tired of the constant conflict he retires to a hostile planet on the furtherest edge of space.Imagine a Universe suffering three decades of Cold War hostility between the New Republic and the still standing Empire. A stalemate , sprinkled with sporadic conflicts. However despite the work of Council Woman Leia the New Republic thirst to destroy their former oppressors no matter the cost could bring a new Galatic War to begin.However a game changer occurs , when a former Elite Tie Fighter Pilot on the run crashes on Tatooine. Teams up with a cynical Force-sensitive mechanic and discover the missing hand of the last Jedi. Leading to the return of a dark threat.And on a distant planet , in a humble hut Luke feels the force stirring once again in the Universe...

• Alternate theory, the New Jedi Order of the films is small and the Galaxy overall has no real respect for them, basically feeling that they are just remnants of a "dead religion". But the new threat in this film proves to be far more than the New Republic can handle and the Jedi must step up and prove their worth. Leading to the Order's return to grandeur.
  • Sorta confirmed , that titles does refer to a Universe which has gone without the force for decades, but apparently the Force is awakening.

One of the masters in Luke's rebuilt Jedi Order will be...

Kanan Jarrus. He's being given a lot of coverage by EU material including novels and comics. It wouldn't be the first time a prominent EU Jedi appeared in a film, at least as a cameo.

• Alternatively we see an adult Ezra. Seems unlikely Rebels will kill off its Kid Hero despite being Doomed by Canon.
  • Both Jossed. Kanan's only appearance is a vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.

Luke has learned from the failings of the old Jedi

In the prequel era, the Order has been unchallenged for who knows how long, they've grown confident to the point of arrogance that their ways are right and to ever question them is to take a running leap to the dark side. So certain of their place they couldn't see the inevitable betrayal. So Luke has learned to be open to the possibility he could be wrong and encourages Padawans to question the Order's teachings as even masters may still learn from rethinking what they think they know.

• Partially confirmed. He thinks the Jedi's faults were what led to the rise of the Empire.

The State of the Galaxy is thus:

• After the Battle of Endor, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda quickly assumed power and had the Imperial Fleet jump to the system while the Rebels were partying. The Rebels were crippled and set back another twenty years, during which Amedda set about reforming the Empire, such as increasing non-humans in the military and reestablishing the Senate. Then, ten years ago, he died from an assassin and now more systems are declaring independence.
  • On a side note, Salacious Crumb now runs Jabba's criminal empire.
• Jossed. According to the EU, he was forced to make peace.

The film will be about the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant forced into an Enemy Mine situation against the Sith.

Before the events of the film, the Imperial Remnant "secularized" and purged all elements of the Sith from its government. They also entered into a truce with the New Republic. The film will center on characters from the New Republic (Daisy Ridley and the old cast members) working with Imperial Remnant characters (the guy in the armor) to defeat the Sith, who want to conquer them both.

• Jossed.

The ball droid is the love child of R2-D2 and C-3P0

They finally settled down and started a family. Don't ask me how it works.

• Jossed.

Boba Fett will inevitably show up in the Sequel Trilogy at some point or another, played by either Daniel Logan or Temuera Morrison.

George Lucas personally took the time to confirm that regardless of how the original EU's not canon anymore, Boba Fett still survived the Sarlacc Pit on Tatooine. That's practically all but a guarantee that our favorite bounty hunter is somewhere out there in the galaxy. Perhaps he and the Power Trio of Luke, Leia and Han will have to work together in an Enemy Mine situation against the Empire.

• Jossed. He does appear in The Mandalorian.

Kylo Ren is wearing Darth Revan's armor

Ren's helmet is similar in design to Revan's from KOTOR, and rumors have said that he is a grave robber in search of Sith artifacts. Perhaps he found Revan's tomb and uncovered his belongings?

• Considering that Revan (or his ghost, anyway) was originally going to appear in the Mortis arc, him being recanonized in such a way is not impossible.
• A few hints dropped in Entertainment Weekly's interview with J. J. Abrams are actually starting to make it look like this is a real possibility. According to Abrams, “The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from...", and also “[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film.” So apparently there is some significance to the mask's design and origins, and the movie will devote some time to talking about the Sith Lords that preceded Ren.
  • Jossed. He seemed to make it himself.

There will be a new race that is half Wookiee and half human.

Otherwise known as woman. Carrie Fisher said it on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and maybe she was not lying.

• Jossed.

At some point in the sequel trilogy, someone will free all the slaves on Tatooine.

In The Phantom Menace, Anakin said that he would return to Tatooine to free all the slaves someday. This never happened and Leia's bondage makes clear that slavery continued to be practiced on Tatooine all the way through Return of the Jedi. At some point in the sequel trilogy, someone (probably someone from the Skywalker family) will go to Tatooine to free all the slaves.

• Jossed. The only time Tatooine appears is when Rey visits the Lars homestead at the end of ''The Rise of Skywalker

Poe Dameron will fly a spaceship called Raven

Because the Star Wars franchise already has one famous spaceship called Falcon. And because having a space pilot named "Poe" piloting a ship called Raven would be too awesome to pass up.

• How about calling his ship the "Revan"?
  • Jossed.

The sequel trilogy will turn out to be a Spiritual Antithesis of J. J. Abrams' Star Trek movies

When Star Trek (2009) came out, plenty of people complained because they thought that it made a better Star Wars movie than a Star Trek movie: we got tons of bombastic space battles with gleefully evil villains who explode planets willy-nilly, an underdog farmboy as a hero, a womanizing Loveable Rogue captaining his own starship, a pointy-eared mentor who lives alone in a cave, etc. To compensate for that, JJ's Star Wars will turn out to resemble Star Trek more than it resembles Star Wars: we'll get in-depth looks at interspecies politics, philosophical dialogue on the true nature of the Force, the Millenium Falcon exploring uncharted worlds, and a cerebral Final Battle where the heroes realize that they can't always shoot the thermal exhaust port to save the day.

• Jossed.

The scene with the Millennium Falcon from the trailer is part of a flashback.

It actually takes place several decades ago, closer to when the original trilogy took place. This would explain why the imperial TIE-fighters look exactly the same as they did back then, and why the Falcon itself hasn't really changed either (except for that satellite dish).

• Jossed.

Anakin's Force ghost will be set on fire in the ninth episode.

The final episodes for the original and prequel trilogies both involved Anakin being set on fire. Clearly, the tradition will be upheld...somehow. (Note: this theory is not serious in any way whatsoever.)

• Jossed. He only makes a vocal cameo.

Han will be the only member of the original Power Trio actively participating in the war.

The Irony would be perfect.

• Jossed. Leia is the only one actively participating.

Luke will have a second (well third) Lightsaber

In Heir to the Jedi Luke is given a Lightsaber that belonged to a Rodian Jedi during the Clone Wars. He accidentally knocks the crystal out of alignment while examining it and is initially unable to fix them due to his inexperience with the Force. I haven't finished the book yet so I don't know if he reconstructs it, but if he still has it in the future it could be useful as a surprise backup weapon. Also could serve as a shoutout to his shoto Lightsaber from the old Marvel series.

• Jossed.

Poe Dameron and the other X-wings in the trailer are part of Rogue Squadron.

• Jossed.

Rey's name

• Rey is only a nickname or part of her (first?) name, which would be...
  • Kira Rey. Early reports suggested her name was Kira, and it would match Kylo Ren.
    • Then they might be siblings like Jacen and Jaina.
  • Reyna. This allows for a Spanish pun, only one letter off, with "king" (rey) becoming "queen" (reina). Also sounds like Jaina.
  • Amura Rey.
  • Asuka Rey.
• Contrary to the above, Rey will rhyme with "key".
• All Jossed.

Luke will survive until Episode IX.

True, both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were mentor archetypes who died in the first film of their respective trilogies, but both were quickly replaced by other mentors (and Obi-Wan maintained a presence in the OT even after his death). It seems likely that the new characters will also need a mentor for more than one film, and while they could get someone to replace Luke, why bother? He's the original hero of the franchise, beloved by fans, with decades of history both in-universe and out, and any potential alternative is likely to become a Replacement Scrappy. If/when he does die, it'll be in the final film of the trilogy, either in a "pass on what you have learned" scene reminiscent of Yoda's, or as a Sacrificial Lion to show that the newer cast are truly on their own.

• Jossed. He dies in VIII.

The ship that the TIE Fighter is chasing the Millenium Falcon into is a Super Star Destroyer.

It's got the sets of engines spaced out like a SSD.

• Jossed.

Just who are the First Order?

• A unified Imperial Remnant
• An attempt to resurrect the Sith
• Not directly descended from the Empire or the Sith but a group inspired to create a Second Empire by them.
• Not inspired by the Empire but a group using and improving the technology of the Empire to make war on the New Republic/Resistance.
• Some combination of the above: Perhaps a Remnant that hid itself and has been building forces for an assault by kidnapping children to raise as students and attempting to build a Sith order from scratch.
  • All Jossed.

The downed Star Destroyer and X-Wing were the only two ships in a battle

• X-Wing Vs Star Destroyer and the battle ended in a draw. That Rebel pilot was a badass.
  • Jossed.

Luke was the one who brought down the Super Star Destroyer in the second trailer

Using the force. Like Galen Marek. But bigger. Because Luke took a serious level in badass.

• Jossed.

What exactly is the Resistance?

The only detail so far is that the Resistance is formed out of the Rebel Alliance which appears to have disbanded/reorganized sometime between the 30 year timeskip. As there's been no indication yet that the New Republic has been established in this canon, there are some possibilities:

• The Resistance is a splinter faction/black ops group operating in First Order/Imperial Remnant territory with unofficial support from the New Republic.
  • Mostly confirmed.
• The First Order were able to turn the tide against the Rebels at the Battle of Jakku and reestablish control over some of the Empire's former territory, forcing the Rebels to regroup and rebrand themselves.
• The First Order is in fact the New Republic after the Alliance committed a Full-Circle Revolution following Palpatine's downfall, causing Luke, Leia and the others to form the Resistance in response.

One or more antagonists will have a Villainous Breakdown.

I mean the screaming, breaking down This Cannot Be! kind of breakdown.

• Confirmed.

Kylo Ren is possessed by Darth Plagueis' spirit

• This could explain how he is a credible threat to the heroes despite there being no Sith left to train him - he would have inherited Plagueis' powers. It might also explain Ren's apparent interest in Vader: Plagueis might have realized somehow that Anakin was created through his experiments. Finally, it may explain why Ren has apparently taken over the First Order: it could be Plagueis' symbolic revenge against Palpatine, by taking over what Palpy built. Heck, if the thing about Vader I mentioned is also true, it would make double sense: "You took and got my experiment killed, now I'll take over your empire and kill the Jedi you failed to! *Evil Laugh*"
• Jossed.

The galactic political situation will be a... what's the word? Oh - clusterfuck!

After the Battle of Endor, the Empire splintered into multiple competing factions. The Rebel Alliance founded the New Republic, but they soon ran into two problems. First, many of the Imperial splinter factions were as powerful as the New Republic. Second, many worlds that threw off Imperial rule decided to go their own way. Thirty years later, the Republic's political leadership has more or less given up on reunifying the galaxy and established diplomatic ties with the saner splinter factions and new breakaway star nations. Han and Leia (among others) left the New Republic to form the Resistance. Luke has established the New Jedi Order, but out of a fear of getting too involved in the political mayhem, he and his followers became recluses. The awakening of the Force will bring Luke and his handful of Jedi initiates out into the galaxy. The First Order is a powerful splinter faction led by Kylo Ren that not only wants to restore the Empire, but has a chance of pulling it off. Finn fought for another splinter faction that gets attacked by the First Order, leading to him joining the Resistance.

• Jossed. There was relative peace until the First Order came along.

Darth Maul will return

Maul was seemingly killed in The Phantom Menace, but turned out to have survived in The Clone Wars, continuing on into the comic book "Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir". In both The Clone Wars and "Son of Dathomir", he's survived. Assuming he doesn't die in further EU material, he could appear in Episode VII. But in what role? Kylo Ren's Sith master? A Token Evil Teammate out to stop the First Order as proxy revenge against Palpatine for using and discarding him? Some random guy in a tavern?

• Jossed.

Jar Jar Binks will get a Historical Villain Upgrade.

He'd be very old now (or dead because of it), and just killing him off would be too pandering. The New Republic will remember him as The Quisling and the New Empire/Sith Order will have made him an Unperson (assuming the Empire didn't already did so). This works twofold: satisfying fans without going overboard, and giving him a logical send-off.

• Jossed. He's never mentioned.

Kylo Ren will be the Dragon-in-Chief

They've already done the "mastermind emperor" with Palpatine, and it'd be a nice nod to the original plan for the Emperor. In Episode Eight, Kylo will do what Darth Vader always attempted and be a successful Starscream.

• Confirmed.

The movie will feature the First Order and the Resistance finally uniting

Obviously, it won't happen in exactly the same way as the Empire and the New Republic uniting into the Galactic Alliance, what with the Expanded Universe now being declared non-canon, but it would still be the perfect way to show that the stakes have gone up since the original trilogy, and it would help the creators deflect accusations of the Resistance/First Order conflict being a rehash of the Rebellion/Empire conflict. And it would fit with the series' characteristic optimism if the two enemy factions could resolve their conflict peacefully and learn to work together.

• Jossed.

The Knights Of Ren are Luke's first, failed attempt to recreate the Jedi Order

So Kylo Ren is in fact not our masked antagonist's real name. 'Ren' being an honorific title from his order of force users, the Knights of Ren. That much is all confirmed.

But who are the Knights of Ren? A mysterious group of dark side force users, whose most prominent member allegedly has an obsession with Darth Vader...

What if, in his initial attempts to reform the Jedi, Luke, seeing the failures of the detached, celibate old order, goes too far in the other direction, causing his less willful students to fall to the dark side. Thus, this group of Luke's wayward pupils go their own way, while still venerating their old master, thus engendering Kylo Ren's obsession with Luke's father.

• Jossed.

By the time of Episode VII, the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant have formed a peace treaty but not everyone acknowledges it.

The Resistance and the First Order are the radical members of each side who refused to stop fighting.

• The characters of the original trilogy will be split between these groups. Leia and Lando will be a member of the New Republic while Han will join the Resistance and Luke will take neither side and focus on Jedi-related business.
  • Jossed.

The allegiances of preexisting worlds in the new canon.

Resistance:

• Yavin 4
• Hoth
• Mon Calamari
• Endor
• Kashyyyk
• Utapau
• Mygeeto
• Corellia

First Order:

• Coruscant
• Naboo
• Mustafar
• Kamino
• Bespin
• Geonosis
• Dathomir
• Tatooine
  • All Jossed.

Finn is related to an established character.

Abrams has said that Finn's surname was not revealed for a reason. He might be related to a previous character. Possibilities include:

• Lando, though that's a little too obvious.
  • If you recall, the protagonist of Star Wars: Invasion was named "Finn Galfridian", presumably because the writers thought that name had a nice ring to it. Obviously, this probably wasn't intentional foreshadowing...but notice that "Finn Calrissian" has a similarly nice ring to it...
• Palpatine or Tarkin, which would make more sense since he's an Imperial.
• Or, you know— Luke. Take note of how Finn's name compares to the rest of the new Power Trio, as well as the one from the old films: there's one sci-fi-ish version of a normal name (Leia/Rey), one vaguely Asian-sounding one (Han/Poe), and one that's a perfectly unremarkable Earth human name (Luke/Finn). Plus they embody a similar dynamic: independent girl with a personal astromech droid, non-Force sensitive Ace Pilot, and newfound Force user who takes up Anakin Skywalker's old lightsaber. You could cut the foreshadowing with a knife, it's so thick.
  • All Jossed.

The Knights of Ren pre-date both the Jedi and Sith.

Many thousands of years ago, the Knights of Ren had a 'civil war' of some sort which branched off two factions: The Jedi and the Sith. Rather than the old EU (Legends) stating that the Sith formed from exiled Dark Jedi, in canon, it was the 'Jedi' faction of the Knights of Ren that rebelled (and possibly won), while the Knights of Ren gradually became the Sith.This new canon could even follow a similar history to Legends, and if not outright retconned, major characters such as Revan could have still existed, as well as exported historical moments like the Ruusan Reformation.

• Jossed.

Constable Zuvio is a Kaleesh.

Simple enough, he has reddish reptilian skin, yellow eyes, a broad nose (from what we've seen of it), and is covered in body wrappings.

The Resistance and the Rebel Alliance are two separate movements in an Enemy Mine situation.

The Rebel Alliance opposes the First Order and wishes to establish a new Republic while the Resistance opposes the First Order but either does not wish to join the new Republic or opposes the existence of a new Republic entirely. The Resistance is similar to the Separatists in the prequel trilogy.

• Jossed.

Han's job is to smuggle weapons and resources from the New Republic to the Resistance.

Going off the theory that the New Republic quietly supports the Resistance fighting the First Order.

• Jossed. He's working on his own.

The Knights of Ren's main goal (or possibly a bigger bad) is to locate the origin of the Force and attempt to use it to their advantage.

• Jossed.

Kylo Ren is a former member of the Imperial Royal Guard.

• Jossed. He's Han and Leia's son.

At some point, a character will say (or some sort of variation of): "I have a bad feeling about this."

It's Star Wars. It's kind of a given at this point.

• Confirmed.

Rey will eventually get a double-bladed lightsaber.

She's frequently pictured with a staff in teaser material so it would probably be easy for her to switch over to a double-bladed lightsaber.

• Only in a vision in Rise of Skywalker.

Kylo Ren's lightsaber has a small chance of blowing up every time it's activated.

His lightsaber is said to be more shoddy and unstable than normal, which is why it has a more "wavy" appearance. It would also make him more intimidating if he's willing to risk blowing himself up every time he turns on his weapon.

• Jossed. No issue is ever brought up.

At least one alien race from the Expanded Universe will appear as a Mythology Gag

Even with the Expanded Universe declared non-canon, it seems likely that they would at least throw the fandom a bone by including one of the aliens from the books and/or comics in a crowd scene (like in Maz Kanata's stronghold, perhaps). Which race is anyone's guess, but the Chiss, the Noghri, the Hapans, the Falleen and the Selonians would all seem to be prime candidates.

• Jossed.

The Knights of Ren are connected to the Acolytes of Beyond

Star Wars: Aftermath features a brief appearance from a cult called the Acolytes of Beyond, who worship Darth Vader and purchase what may be his old lightsaber (though it's left ambiguous as to whether it actually belonged to Vader, or was the property of another Sith or Dark Jedi). Since Abrams has hinted that Kylo Ren worships the Sith and Darth Vader in particular, it's possible that the two groups are connected, or that the Acolytes of Beyond eventually evolved into the Knights of Ren.

• Jossed.

The First Order will more openly embrace the dark side of the Force

In the original movies and the post-buyout Expanded Universe, it's shown that most of the Imperials didn't take the Force seriously, and that most of them weren't even aware that Emperor Palpatine was actually a Sith Lord. Aftermath introduces a character named Yupe Tashu, who was one of Palpatine's advisers and an ardent student of Sith lore. Tashu argues that now that the Sith are gone and that Luke Skywalker isn't likely to be turned, the only way to preserve the Empire's future is to embrace the dark side and draw from its power like Palpatine once did. This stance could inform the eventual formation of the First Order, who might now be less skeptical of the Force and its potential to assist their cause.

• Jossed.

The "wellspring" of the dark side is the homeworld of the Sith purebloods.

Referring to the "wellspring" mentioned here.

• Jossed.

The Knights of Ren are an attempt to "fix" the Sith Order.

The founder of the Knights of Ren used to be an important dark-sider for Palpatine, existing as a possible replacement for Vader in case Luke ends up dead/refuses to follow him. The founder(let's call him Ren) knew the ways of the Sith, but with the events of the Original Trilogy realized how flawed the Sith were. Thus, Ren decided to create the Knights of Ren in order to use the dark side "properly."

• Jossed.

The Knights of Ren are literally Dark Jedi, who folow the jedi code far too much

We have seen the dangers of Sith who immerse themselves in the dark side, and follow their code too strictly. We've seen light jedi who follow their code to strictly. But a dark Jedi can be uncaring. No emotion at all. This is why when Kylo Ren finally hits the Dark side he is calm.

• Jossed.

Darth Plagueis will play an important(though most likely posthumous) part.

And it could revolve around the following:

• The Knights of Ren take some of his esoteric teachings and views, while adhering to the political structures of Palpatine's Empire
• The Knights of Ren were founded by Plagueis himself, as one of his schemes for abolishing his Old Sith Order. It's implied Palpatine's main motivation for killing Plagueis was to prevent him being replaced by Plagueis' new order. Ren may be the intended replacement for Sidious, or even Plageuis' canon name
• Plagueis left a powerful McGuffin and/or Force techniques the villains want to take
• Plagueis isn't dead! His wisdom managed to keep his spirit and powers alive in some form, it's just he's been Sealed Evil in a Can for whatever reason(probably Palpatine trying to stop him). Big Bad Snoke either wants his ghost to help his cause(immortality, maybe?), which will result in Evil Is Not a Toy and Plagueis will continue his plans of domination before Sidious killed him.
• Snoke is one of Plagueis' experiments at creating life, trying to continue his legacy or making his own in spite of him.
  • All Jossed.

'The Force Awakens' doesn't (outright) refer to the mystical energy "Force" we are led to believe.

Rather, the term 'Force' could literally refer to some kind of group or army (or even a single being) that has grown (awakened) in power. At this point the obvious answer is the First Order or the Knights of Ren, but it could also hint that the Jedi Order/non-Force sensitive allies (Resistance) have secretly grown to a respectable number to fight evil. In other words, "The Force Awakens" is more a positive title much like "A New Hope".

• Jossed.

The Knights of Ren are Expies of the One Sith.

They will be Dark Side users but they will disregard the Rule of Two, meaning there might be an army of them to fight.

• Jossed.

Kylo Ren is at least a partial Expy of Galen Marek.

Both have been described as "what Luke would be if he joined the Empire." Both are closely tied to Vader. Both crafted their own lightsabers and both pretty much did a hack-job of it. And the First Order's new superweapon just so happens to be called "Starkiller Base." Coincidence?

There are civilians on Starkiller Base.

According to starwars.com, Starkiller Base is a planet that was converted into a superweapon so it's possible that there are locals on the planet. This would make the Resistance reluctant to blow it up like the Death Star.

• Jossed. They have no qualms about blowing it up, as it seems to be only occupied by First Order personnel.

Rey is Luke Skywalker's daughter

Much like his own upbringing, Luke sent Rey to Jakku after she was born to keep her safe from the First Order and the Knights of Ren who are presently hunting him down, and her true origin is to be kept hidden until the time was right.

• In the Japanese trailer Rey says to BB-8: "I know all about waiting. For my family." Maybe she knows exactly who her parents are, and she was supposed to be sent to Jakku temporarily - but something went wrong and she stayed much longer than was planned, YEARS longer perhaps. She feels as though she can't leave because Luke could come back for her at any time (not knowing that her mother is dead?).
  • It's been confirmed in an Entertainment Weekly article that Rey was left on Jakku by her family when she was five, has no idea why, and is still waiting for them to come back. And it's been a long-standing rumour that Luke is missing. It would certainly add up in terms of plot.
• Implied - but Jossed, at least for TFA. Who knows what Episodes VIII and IX will hold?
  • Jossed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Phasma is not a human

That helmet and full-body armour might be concealing a Human Alien.

• Jossed.

The First Order refers to Order 66

The theatrical trailer shows Kylo Ren saying to Darth Vader's melted helmet, "Nothing will stop us. I will finish what you started." And what was the first order to both Vader and the Galactic Empire? Order 66, the extermination of the Jedi. Since Luke helped bring back the Jedi, stopping the Empire and the Sith in the process, he'd be even more motivated to hunt down and destroy any Jedi.

• Jossed.

Finn's parentage will never be revealed

Unlike Luke or Anakin, Finn was a nobody, a nameless orphan who joined the New Order at a young age. He is not Force sensitive because it's in his blood, he just happens to be the right guy for it. It will make Finn's rise as a Jedi Knight that much more significant.

• Confirmed.

Finn's father was Gary the from Robot Chicken

Finn was raised by a bumbling yet well-meaning Punchclock Villain and had had the impression that Darth Vader was an Adorkable child-loving boss and the Emperor was a regular shmuck stuck with a thankless job.

• Gary was shown to have a daughter, who was treated very kindly by Darth Vader. She grew up to be Captain Phasma.
• Jossed.

Finn is not actually force-sensitive and will not become a Jedi

Sure, he's wielding Anakin/Luke's lightsaber in the trailers and on the poster, but that could just be a massive red herring. As we've seen several times, you don't necessarily have to be a Jedi/Sith, or even Force-sensitive, in order to be able to use a lightsaber - although you probably wouldn't be very effective when trying to block laser blasts. It's possible that Finn's picked the lightsaber up for lack of any other weapon in order to face Kylo Ren - perhaps buying time for someone else to get away?

• Possibly Jossed. The Rise of Skywalker hints that he may be.

Rey and Kylo Ren are related.

Besides the obvious possible Jania/Jacen parallels, that could be the reason she's living alone on a barren planet - some traumatic past event involving her brother becoming evil.

• Jossed for The Force Awakens. Though they may be cousins.
  • Jossed.

Joke theory: Kylo is "Loki"

They're both Lean and Mean One Head Taller Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunettes with a penchant for dark clothes and a possibly unhealthy obsession with a father figure who's made some rather poor decisions, though in opposite directions (maybe); they're also members of franchises that were eventually bought by Disney. Also, if he's related to Rey and they're related to Luke he might see her as his enemy/rival for Luke's affection/position/etc.

• Further: This is Loki's horrible adventure between Thor and The Avengers. He fell into wretched hive of Tattooine and things went downhill from there (he altered his face slightly just in case this world knew about him). If Kylo has a Disney Villain Death scene that means he found another wormhole to wherever he met Thanos. This journey took only a few years from the Avengers' POV is because of weird time-space physics.
  • Jossed.

Stories from the old Expanded Universe are the legends being told about the Force in the new canon.

You just know there has to be a reason Disney calls them Legends.

• Jossed.

Kylo Ren's saber isn't as impractical as we thought...

Rather, when a lightsaber clashes with the blade/comes into close proximity with the crossguard, the crossguard's 'unstable' energy fuses with the main blade leaving no vulnerable areas.

• Never stated with way.

Kylo Ren a mole working within the Order

What he wants to finish is Vader's last act of destroying the last bits of the empire. This could extend to the other Knights of Ren, though the fact that they apparently slaughtered a field full of people is probably not a good sign.

• Jossed.

Ideas about Stephen Colbert's theory:

Basically the rebellion and Luke became corrupt after defeating the Empire. Yoda mentions that Luke can still be turned to the dark side and Luke was much older than Anakin when he began Jedi training. If the Jedi council thought a nine year old was too old/risky than a ~19 year old still has a good chance at being corrupted. Therefore if Luke actually turned to the Dark Side than Kylo Ren isn't a corrupted disciple, he's doing exactly what Luke wants him to do: take up Vader's mantel as a Sith and rule the galaxy (after becoming powerful enough to kill his master, of course).

• Jossed.

Maz Kanata is a Kaminoan

We know that she's an alien portrayed through motion capture, but the creators have somehow avoided showing any images of her at all—even though her voice is heard prominently in both the final trailer and the first TV spot. If they're going to such lengths to avoid showing such a prominent character, you almost have to wonder if a image of her would be some sort of spoiler, in and of itself. Consider that she also hints at being considerably older than most of the other characters ("I have lived long enough to see the same eyes in different people"), and it's easy to see her being alive since the Clone Wars. So maybe she was one of the cloners who created the Clone Army, and she left the isolation of Kamino to prevent her clones from wreaking havoc across the Galaxy.

• Jossed. She looks nothing like the Kaminoans at all

Maz Kanata is a member of Yoda's species

Some of her audio clips in the trailers would seem to hint at her being Force-sensitive, and she also seems to be positioned in a mentor role for the heroes—given that she's spouting wise platitudes in all of the trailers seen thus far. When you add the fact that she's also an alien portrayed through motion capture, you really have to wonder if she's being positioned as an Expy of Yoda. Also note that in the only on-set picture of Lupita Nyong'o revealed so far, the motion capture dots on her face are quite visible, but the rest of her body isn't shown. The production staff might be trying to avoid hinting at her character's bodily proportions. If she's playing a Yoda-sized character, she would presumable have her facial performance superimposed on a smaller actor's physical performance.

• Seems to be Jossed. The only other member of Yoda's species we've seen looked almost exactly like him, and Maz looks totally different

Maz Kanata and Supreme Leader Snoke are of the same species

Both have been heard uttering vague prophecies about the return of the Force in the trailers, and both are aliens portrayed through motion capture performances. Given that Snoke is the one behind the First Order, and Maz is apparently a benevolent mentor figure for the members of the Resistance, it's not hard to imagine Maz being Snoke's Good Counterpart. What better way to hammer that fact home than by making them members of the same species?

• Seems to be Jossed. The differences in appearance between the two are far too significant for them to credibly be the same species.

The sequel trilogy will (at least partially) focus on the Rakatan Infinite Empire

The new canonical map of the galaxy includes "Rakata Prime", which is suspiciously near Starkiller Base. Why would such an important Legends planet/history be re-introduced into canon and is not expanded upon?

• Jossed.

Poe Dameron is also Force-Sensitive.

His childhood was spent in proximity of a cutting from a Force-imbued tree that came from a garden that was in the Couruscant Jedi Temple before it was razed, and it imprinted Force-sensitivity upon him.

• Jossed.

Starkiller Base is used in the movie.

And it's used to destroy the star closest to the planet with the Endor-like forest area where Rey fights Kylo Ren, which then becomes the snowy forest area where Kylo fights Finn.

• Partially confirmed. It's used to destroy the New Republic's capital.

Luke Skywalker is asexual and has no children.

Luke showed approximately zero actual interest in anyone of either gender in the original trilogy. It's not implausible that he doesn't have interest in anyone and is perfectly happy with celibacy. In this case, none of the characters will be his offspring.

• The part about him having no children is confirmed.

Kylo Ren's lightsaber is "unstable" because the secrets of saber-crafting died with the Jedi

Also going off of the rumor about the lightsaber Macguffin. A few sources have described Kylo Ren's controversial crossguard lightsaber as "unstable", hinting that Kylo is an inexperienced Knight of Ren who built his lightsaber out of spare parts. But it could also suggest that no one quite knows how to built authentic lightsabers anymore, since they're relics of the bygone Age of the Jedi. Even in A New Hope, Obi-Wan described the lightsaber as "An elegant weapon for a more civilized age". That was more than 30 years before The Force Awakens takes place, making them even more of an anachronism. But it could also explain why it's so damn important to Kylo to get his hands on a Clone War-era lightsaber: it could be the only way to learn how to craft the weapon of a true Sith Lord.

• Jossed.

Epileptic Trees

• There are several theories that one of the returning cast members from the Original Trilogy will die in this movie. A lot of these point to Luke (with many noting the noticeable lack of Mark Hamill in the trailers and publicity images) or Han (given that Harrison Ford thought that Return Of The Jedi would have a greater emotional depth if the character performed a Heroic Sacrifice, since his character arc had been completed after Jabba's death).
  • Confirmed for Han.
• There's a rumor that there's a mystery cast member whose presence is kept in such secrecy that she has to disguise herself whenever she goes off-set. A common theory as to who the character the actress is playing is that she's Mara Jade, reworked for the films and serving as the mother to Luke's child(ren). A surprisingly thorough and convincing case for this argument can be seen here.
  • Jossed.
• It's also common to see some arguments that one of the new actors or actresses will play Expies of EU characters. For example, rumors aside almost everyone is convinced that Daisy Ridley's character Rey is an Expy of Jaina Solo, the daughter of Han and Leia, just because she's sitting between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the tableread photo, and because of her strong resemblance to Natalie Portman, who played Leia's mother. Likewise, aset of rumors suggests Kylo Ren is Han and Leia's son and Rey's brother, thus an Expy of Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus.
  • Confirmed for Kylo.
• There's also a theory that Hux of all people is Luke's son because he, like Luke's wife in the Star Wars Legends continuity, has red hair.
  • Jossed.
• Now that it's confirmed that John Boyega is playing a stormtrooper (Finn), some have wondered if there's any credibility to the rumors he's playing a descendant of Zare Leonis^note A young stormtrooper cadet who is also a mole when first introduced from Rebels.
  • Jossed.
• Related to both Rey & Finn, there's been debate on who the main character is. In promotional material Finn gets Anakin's lightsaber, but Rey is front-and-center in several posters and magazine covers and the theatrical trailer seems to focus on her just a little bit more, especially at the beginning. It seems likely though that they're Deuteragonists, since both characters are being promoted somewhat equally and John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are nigh inseparable at press events. And then those spoiler images were released of Rey holding a lightsaber.
  • Rey is the main character.
• Speaking of Rebels, another popular theory is that Kylo Ren is an aged and fallen Ezra, and the cartoon is actually the story of his Start of Darkness. This may have been jossed with the confirmation that Adam Driver is playing Kylo Ren, who is much younger than Mark Hamill, as Luke and Ezra are the same age. He's actually Han and Leia's son.
• A lot of people are convinced that Darth Plagueis (Emperor Palpatine's master) will be the Big Bad of the Sequel Trilogy (while Kylo Ren will be The Dragon or The Heavy) based on the conversation based around the character in Revenge of the Sith and the allusions to him in Tarkin. A number of people are also convinced that Andy Serkis will be playing the character based on the sinister voice he had in the trailer, along with the rumors that the character's name and presence are in itself spoilers and that he is described as being elderly and undead in terms of appearance. While the character's name has revealed to now be Snoke, many believe that this is simply an alias the character uses when he isn't under whatever Dark Side guise Snoke has - and some of these people believe that the title he has is Darth Plagueis. Furthermore, the possibility of Snoke being Plagueis has gained more force because the character's theme has a rather uncanny similarity to the music from the tragedy of Darth Plagueis in the prequel trilogy.
  • Jossed.
• Max von Sydow is the most speculated-upon actor in the movie. He was absent from the tableread photo as well as all promotional material and there are tons of conflicting rumors about his role in the movie. Fans don't know if he's the Big Bad, Big Good, The Mentor, THE Obi-Wan, Darth Plagueis, some random old guy, a voice-over only role like James Earl Jones, etc, etc. It seems JJ Abrams and the team are keen on keeping his role a secret until the movie comes out.
  • Jossed.
• Roundabouts the beginning of October 2015, a theory started circulating around the internet which postulated that Jar-Jar Binks was secretly a Sith Lord and was working in tandem with Darth Sidious the whole time (noting such things as Jar-Jar's gesturing whenever he's in any plot-relevant event and comparing it to the Mind Trick). Granted, the theory is a bit of a stretch, but there are fans (not many, but enough to be taken into consideration) who are legitimately convinced Jar-Jar will play a role in the new film series because of it as a result. Watch the theory here.
  • Jossed.
• Luke's status as Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer has convinced a surprisingly large number of people that he's turned to the Darkside and become Kylo Ren. Among Fandom VIPs, Count Jackula has said "I better be wrong!" The Film Theorists have also made an entire video devoted to the idea that Luke turned to the Dark Side. They don't verbally say that he and Ren are the same person, but do use footage of Ren while saying that they believe Luke has turned.
  • Luke appears at the end of the film when Rey gives him back his lightsaber.
• Rey's possible Heroic Lineage is the subject of a decent amount of debate. Most of it either boils down between three camps - one that thinks she's "Rey Skywalker" (making her Luke's daughter), one that thinks she's "Rey Solo" (making her Han and Leia's daughter), and one that thinks she's not related to anyone. There's a smaller camp that thinks that Lucasfilm might pull a fast one and that she's actually "Rey Kenobi".
  • Jossed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Confirmed theories

The new movies are going to completely Retcon the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe out of existence in favor of a new story.

Thrawn, Mara Jade, the Solo kids, Ben Skywalker, the Yuuzhan Vong, they're all going bye-bye.

• This has been confirmed by Word of God, and it's not like the previous films had any qualms about ignoring EU material as they saw fit.
• In fact, they took it one step further and annihilated the entire pre-Disney buyout Expanded Universe.
• That said, the new film seems to draw very heavily on the Legacy of the Force book series for thematic reference. Han and Leia have a son that goes to the dark side? Check. New Galactic Civil War? Check. A new Superweapon to blow up? Check.

The Big Bad for Episode 7...

He will be affiliated with The Empire, now fractured post-Palpatine. He will attempt to restructure it in an attempt to defeat the New Republic and/or relive the glory days of the Palpatine era.

• Confirmed. The Big Bad is Kylo Ren, an enforcer for the First Order, which is the restructured remains of the Empire.

Han and Leia will be married.

The people making the movies will not believe that their relationship is unrealistic.

• Confirmed. The Visual Dictionary confirms that Han is Leia's husband.

Han will be killed by Kylo Ren

Rey is shown crying over what looks to be a dead body in the trailer, and it appears to be taking place on the same snow covered planet where Finn duels Kylo Ren. Han's death could prove to be a huge Passing the Torch moment, as well as provide a situation where Rey and Finn are forced to fight Ren after a Big "NO!". Plus, given that Ford has historically had mixed feelings on the franchise, it's possible they were able to lure him back with the promise of Han's death, much like how Leonard Nimoy was persuaded to do Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan after being promised that Spock would be Killed Off for Real.

• Confirmed. Though that's not Han's body, but an injured Finn.

Andy Serkis will play a computer-animated character.

Let's hope that it's not another Jar Jar Binks.

• Confirmed. Supreme Leader Snoke is computer-animated. He appears in holograms as a hulking goliath of a man with a hideously scarred face.

Luke will be Legendary in the Sequel.

• Confirmed. Luke hasn't been seen in years, and several people consider him a myth.

Finn will be the atoner.

• Confirmed. Finn deserts the First Order after refusing to kill civilians during a village raid on Jakku.

Luke founded a new Jedi order... and it ended badly.

Either one of his students turned to the darkside, the Empire hit the academy with a vengeance, or the whole thing simply fell apart. Luke is now the last Jedi Master in the Galaxy, but he lives as a hermit and doesn't feel himself worthy to train new Jedi after his failure.

• Confirmed. Luke is in self-imposed exile because Kylo Ren rebelled against him and destroyed his New Jedi Order.

The sequel trilogy will be based, in part, on a William Shakespeare play

Look at the progression of the original and prequel trilogies: the original was largely written as a grand ode to Chivalric Romance, featuring a dashing boy hero who takes up his father's sword, rescues a princess, and joins a knightly order of spiritual warriors sworn to defend the weak at all costs. The prequels, in turn, took just as much influence from classical Greek tragedy: we saw the downfall of a very Greco-Romanesque Republic, complete with chariot races and gladiatorial combat, ultimately depicting an overly proud hero's fall from grace thanks to a Tragic Flaw. If we started with Ancient Greek tragedy and moved to Medieval romance, what would be the next step? Perhaps we'll see the epic rise and fall of a tormented Well-Intentioned Extremist Anti-Hero like Macbeth, or a rebellious young protagonist in the throes of existential angst like Hamlet, or the story of a pair of Star-Crossed Lovers facing the world together like Romeo and Juliet, or the downfall of an elderly sorcerer like Prospero. It could work.

• Judging from what we know about the trailer, Finn appears to be from the Empire (Romeo Montague) and Rey is likely among the Rebellion/Jedi Order (Juliet Capulet). It could be a link for the Rebellion and Empire to work together to defeat a bigger threat.
• Kinda confirmed. Kylo Ren is a rebellious, tormented young man struggling with his tenuous grasp of right and wrong, and the stage is set for him confronting his uncle, Luke Skywalker; he has more than a little Hamlet in him. Not to mention that Luke's isolation on a deserted island is very reminiscent of Prospero. And if you believe the fan speculation that Rey is Luke's daughter, that would make her the Miranda to Luke's Prospero.
• Jossed.

Even if the Sequel Trilogy will not be based on EU stories, there will be enough references to please the geekier part of the audience.

• Confirmed. Despite the many divergences from the Legends continuity, Anakin Skywalker still has a grandson called "Ben", Han and Leia still have a son who turns to the Dark Side, there is indeed a New Republic, there was a New Jedi Order, the planet Rakata Prime has been confirmed to exist, and Luke goes into exile much like he does in Fate of the Jedi.

Midi-chlorians will be neither mentioned nor negated.

Mentioning them would stir old feelings of disdain toward the concept that was introduced in The Phantom Menace. Negating the concept would cause discontinuity that would upset some fans. Therefore, the concept will be neither mentioned nor negated.

• Confirmed. No mention at all. Likely because it is now a lost Jedi tradition/secret.

Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac are the "trio of young leads" described in the premise.

They may be young Jedi Knights of Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order. One of them could be a child of Han and Leia. If it is established that Luke had a wife, then maybe Luke has a child among these leads.

• Confirmed, at least the new-trio part.

The first film will involve the deaths of one or more members of the original trio

Because why stray from formula when you can go for cheap drama ?

• As mentioned below, Luke is the most likely to die given the pattern so far. This would hardly be cheap drama though, as it's simply following the same pattern as Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.
• Alternatively, it will be Han, since he seems to be playing the role of Obi-Wan in this film: A hero of the old saga who gives the new heroes secret knowledge and shepherds them into the main conflict.
  • Confirmed.

Adam Driver plays The Dragon to the true Big Bad

After all his role has been described as Darth Vader-esque.

• Comtirmed. The leader of the First Order is Supreme Leader Snoke, played by Andy Serkis.

Daisy Ridley's character is the main protagonist.

Judging from what's seen of her in the trailer, she looks like a resident of a desert planet (most likely Tatooine), is dressed in garb suited for it, and rides a landspeeder, which seem to be references to Luke and Anakin. It could be a Generation Xerox if the WMG that she is Luke's daughter is true.

• Seems to be confirmed so far — note that Rey is front and centre of the D23 poster.
• Confirmed sort of. Finn is the other protagonist.

Kylo Ren was Luke Skywalker's apprentice before he turned to the dark side.

According to rumors, the plot of The Force Awakens will involve the search for Luke Skywalker, who has gone missing. Several fans have speculated that Kylo Ren is a former apprentice of Luke Skywalker's who has fallen to the dark side, and that the shame of this has caused Luke to voluntarily go into exile.

• Confirmed.

There will be a major familial reveal.

But unlike Vader, it'll be reversed. One of the main villains (probably The Dragon) will turn out to be the son of one of the main heroic figures, maybe like the Big Good chancellor.

• Confirmed.

Kylo Ren is a Skywalker

Ren is Darth Vader's grandson, and that's why he's so obsessed with the Dark Lord of the Sith. Luke's "you have that power too" speech is directed at his son or nephew.

• Skywalker-Solo
  • Confirmed - the title, anyway. The speech doesn't actually feature in the film.

Jossed theories

The plot of the sequel trilogy will be set in the Star Wars distant future.

As in, not thirty years after the originals, but really distant. Past Cade Skywalker's time. This is something I've been thinking about for a while, and while I'm not putting my money on it entirely, I do have plausible reasons for this theory.

• First off, the makers outright stated that they're not adapting any EU novels. Some fans have argued this won't stop them from telling the story in this time period, but I beg to differ. We all know what the hard-core fans are like; those novels are popular, and if they get reduced to secondary canon by these films there will be an outcry like no other. So no, they won't have it set during this time because there's already novels, and it will be very unlikely for them to rewrite those novels.
• Canon has already been established right up to Cade Skywalker's time (I think). And like I said above, fans don't tend to like it when canon gets rewritten unless for good reason. The movies could be set right after Legacy, but then Cade will have to be mentioned at some point, which I highly doubt, so they'll have to set the movies a century or more after he's died.
• Which leads me to point number three; no one outside the fandom has heard of Mara Jade, the Solo twins, Cade Skywalker, etc. Trying to tie the movies in with the novels will just prove to be too much work, for they will have to promote the books and Force knows how much other material, and considering how much of it there is... No. Disney won't do it. It'll be far easier on the viewers if that stuff is only subtly mentioned, enough for a Shout-Out but not enough to confuse those who have never read the novels (which is admittedly a large proportion of the public).
  • The thing is, if they want to include EU material, they can't start anywhere willy-nilly, do the story of everyone's children. As much as big Star Wars fans love the EU, the rest of the fanbase – they people who have seen and like the movie, but will never pick up or seek out a EU novel or comic or anything like that – they are not attached to the EU characters, they don't know them. Jumping in and assuming that anyone outside the EU fanbase will accept and get what the character's about will be a big mistake, there's no continuity to make them meaningful and will poisen the film. The point of the EU is to enrich the story, add to the mythology by chronicling the history of the universe outside the movie, not overtaking it and changing the movies. Mara Jade, Jaina & Jacen and Anakin Solo, Ben Skywalker - all those characters will need to be introduced if the filmmakers for Episode VII and beyond want to include them. As far as the theatrical films are concerned, they never have and possibly never will exist. The EU is bound by the films, but the films aren't bound by the EU. Any character in Episode VII and beyond that has not appeared in Episode I-VI –EU or created for the movie – needs to earn their place.
• Point number four, the writers are free to do whatever the hell they want, therefore being free to create a movie we've been waiting for. Also, because of the existence of Force ghosts (and random clones which pop up randomly) they can bring back whoever they want on par with the plot (Han may be a little more difficult, but hey, maybe Luke and Leia help him out with that).
  • The above arguments have evidently been Jossed; the movie is set 30 years after Return Of The Jedi.
  • Also the EU has been banished to an alternate reality so no secondary canon for the novels. No connection to the main canon at all.

The sequel trilogy will be an adaptation of the Thrawn Trilogy

Considering that the Thrawn trilogy is already considered the unofficial Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, and that it is such a major part of the Expanded Universe, I'd be inclined to think that they are gonna adapt it. Besides, it leaves options open for more adaptations from the Expanded Universe.

• The makers already outright said that the movies will not be an adaptation of any Expanded Universe material.
  • On the bright side, there were rumors about Benedict Cumberbatch being in the a future project. Thrawn is pretty Sherlock-like in his deductions. This could potentially be awesome.

The Thrawn Trilogy will already have happened and the original story of the trilogy will use elements from it.

Mara Jade and the established children of the old main cast will be canon, and there will already be a New Republic. The events of the Thrawn books won't play a major part, but will be referenced in passing or described/flashed back to at the beginning of the film to bring the general audience up to speed.

• Jossed; the old EU canon is no more.

The current EU and the sequel trilogy will BOTH become canon.

A back-story will be made to split the EU into two continuities, keeping the Thrawn trilogy etc canon, but in its own timeline. Episodes VII-IX will follow the "new" timeline.

• Confirmed. The old EU is now labeled as a series of "Legends" discussed by the trillions of people living in the Galaxy. However, everything from 2014 onward that is part of the new EU actually happens unless specified.
  • Actually the EU was never canon per se. The new films will carry on the official cannon of the Star Wars Universe. The EU will be part of a different possible Universe. So technically Star Wars 7 doesn't follow a new Timeline. It just a continuation of the original timeline.

To an extent, the Expanded Universe stories will be canonized.

Granted, the stories would have to be modified to fit the new continuity, but I doubt they'd just pretend, say The Thrawn Trilogy never happened. Since Episode VII is inevitably going to be over thirty years after the original trilogy, we'll want an background to the aftermath. And much like how Lucas forged an entire series based an alluded back-story by Obi-Wan (the Clone Wars), Disney could make an animated adaptation of some post-movie EU. As mentioned, creative liberties will be taken, and will be considered to the The Thrawn Trilogy as Star Wars: The Clone Wars is to Star Wars: Clone Wars. Fans will consider this adaptation to be Star Wars Episode 6.5.

• Jossed. It was announced April 25, 2014 that the only things canon are the films, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, future Marvel comics, and upcoming novels from September onward. Everything EU-related is an Alternate Continuity unless it is refitted, and everything is coordinated by Lucasfilm Story Group.

Han Solo went back in time and saved Chewbacca.

Sometime in the future, Han Solo came across a time machine and went back in time to prevent the death of Chewbacca in Vector Prime (25 ABY), hence why Chewbacca will be in Episode VII (which is said to be set 35 years after the films). This action alters events during and after Vector Prime.

• Jossed; per Word of God, those events never happened in this timeline. Chewie never died.

If the title of episode VII is indeed "The Ancient Fear", the "ancient fear" will be death/mortality.

• Or maybe it could mean that Darth Plagueis did find a way to be immortal and that he will be the main villain.
  • It could mean both. A villain who wishes to live forever (Plagueis) could view death/mortality as an "Ancient Fear".

Episode VII title guesses.

• A New Dawn was an early rumor, and would work as a Call-Back to A New Hope while also being a way to indicate that the franchise has a future in cinema.
• The Ancient Fear, according to a rumor.
• Hand of the Jedi. It could refer to Luke being the hand of the Jedi Order and reveal what happened to Luke's hand. Maybe it will be used to create clones like in The Last Command and begin The New Clone Wars.
• Legacy of the Force . It could refer to how the Force has helped shape and guide for better or ill the fate of the Galaxy. Could have a double meaning if the new young leads end up representing the new age of the Force , where it has evolved more from Darkside\Whiteside to Dark Gray making better Worlds at any cost or Light Gray protecting an ideal of freedom but willing to use darker means to do so.
  • ALL Jossed. The title is The Force Awakens.

J.J. Abrams will retitle the film simply as Star Wars and give it the sequel/reboot treatment like he did with Star Trek

The film will start with the original cast for a little bit, then Han (since he reportedly has a large part in this film) and Chewie will go through a time warp and be henceforth referred to as Han and Chewie Prime, encountering their younger selves.

• Jossed. There’s no time travel.

Starkiller will cameo.

Lucas himself was involved with The Force Unleashed, hence it's still canon. And who wouldn't want to see Vader's son and Vader's apprentice share some screentime?!?

• Nope, Lucasfilm representatives have said on a few occasions that The Force Unleashed isn't canon anymore in spite of George Lucas's involvement. However, there's always a chance that they could re-introduce the character in another way, (which would most likely be around the era of the Original Trilogy instead of the Sequel Trilogy).
  • Here's where the EU homages come into it; Gleeson's character is leader of the "Starkiller Base", which could be a nod to both 'Luke Starkiller' AND The Force Unleashed.
• Jossed.

Domhnall Gleeson will play the movie equivalent of Ben Skywalker.

Just look at him.

• Nope, he is playing a First Order General named Hux.

Luke will die, and Domhnall Gleeson's character (an expy of Ben Skywalker) will take over Luke's role

• Jossed, he is more like Tarkin than Ben.

Adam Driver or Domhnall Gleeson will play the role of an adult Ezra Bridger.

Given how the Star Wars Rebels tv series is officially Canon, and only takes place five years prior to Episode IV, Ezra and the crew will have to show up somewhere. This could fit with the stuff about Adam Driver's role being Darth Vader-esque: Ezra turned to the dark side and became an Inquisitor.

• Ezra is about the same age as Luke & Leia, so an actor closer to Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher's ages would have to play a TFA-era Ezra.
• Jossed. Adam Driver's character's name is "Kylo Ren", and Domhnall Gleeson's character's name is "General Hux".

Snoke is a familiar character

Let's see, Alien leading the forces of the Empire after the Emperor's defeat? He's totally Thrawn! (Rebels did want to include a Chiss, so they could be canon now).

• Jossed. In an interview, J.J. described Snoke as "a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force". Though Thrawn definitely isn't a good guy, he's not a Force user, and he has no official affiliation with the Dark Side.

The man in the armor at the beginning of the first trailer is not actually a

He is merely someone who disguised himself in the armor, much like Luke and Han.

• Jossed. Finn is now confirmed to be an actual stormtrooper at the start of the film.

Jakku doesn't exist.

It's a bit hard to believe that Jakku just happens to be a desert planet with two stars that's COMPLETELY unrelated to Tatooine. Chances are that it's just Tatooine. Remember that this is the same guy who pretended that Khan wasn't in Star Trek Into Darkness for about a year.

• Jossed. Jakku appears in both Star Wars: Aftermath and the Star Wars Battlefront (2015) video game. In the former, it's described as actually being a worse place to live than Tatooine.

The Yuuzhan Vong will be the main antagonists in the upcoming movie, although they'll be Lighter and Softer.

• It's likely the Sith would still be the Big Bad, on the whole at least.
  • Jossed. It's neither the Sith nor the Yuuzhan Vong pulling the strings.
    • Unless you believe the fan theory that Snoke is actually Darth Plagueis. Then the Sith would be pulling the strings somewhat.

There will be tons of annoying lens flare in the new sequels.

And tons and tons. And tons and tons and tons. And tons. Which will ultimately ruin the movie and kill the franchise before they can decimate the EU any further.

• Well Star Trek managed to become a commercial success in spite of it's lens flares and even got a sequel with another on the way. Man of Steel (which, in this troper's opinion, used them even worse) is getting not only a sequel, but an entire multi-film universe built around it, so I feel they are pretty harmless when it comes to the financial success of a film. Secondly, Jar Jar Binks failed to kill the prequel trilogy, thus proving the guaranteed success of any Star Wars theatrical release. Thirdly, I greatly enjoyed Heir to the Empire, but reading it there were many points where I noticed bits that no longer fit with what Star Wars had become in the years since. Even newer media set in the Clone Wars had to be retcond with the release of Revenge of the Sith and then again with the release of The Clone Wars. It was always happening, every new release brought retcons and rewrites to explain all the hundreds of inconsistencies and with the universe getting much fuller it was happening more and more. By choosing to start again from bare bones and establishing the Story Group, Disney is simply ensuring that years down the line, with the release of Episode LVII, a fan could still pick up Heir to the Jedi and see it fitting snugly and undisturbed into the universe. Plus they have yet to repeat the Jedi-who-is-incredibly-powerful-but-also-arrogant-falls-to-the-dark-side-but-is-redeemed-through-the-power-of-love or the ancient-or-imperial-super-weapon-appears-to-threaten-the-entire-galaxy-and-only-our-heroes-can-stop-it plots, which were never ending in the old EU. Thus I don't see them decimating it.
• The point about The Force Awakens proving to be a Franchise Killer has at least been Jossed. Pre-order tickets alone have been gigantic and it's on track for one of the biggest debuts of all time. EU fans hoping the movie will fail so the old EU can return are out of luck.
• Jossed. There are surprisingly few lens flares. Seriously. There are a few used at the end but they're very subtle, and it adds to the beauty of the cinematography more than anything.

Greg Grunberg's character is a relative of Porkins'

He's a chubby bearded guy who is an X-Wing pilot. The resemblance is striking.

• He's playing Temmin Wexley.

Greg Grunberg's character is related to Wedge Antilles

"Son of Porkins" jokes aside, Wedge Antilles is a hugely important character, and the only reason he isn't in the movie is because Denis Lawson turned a cameo down. Meanwhile, Admiral and Nien Nunb are both in the movie, leaving Wedge the only Rebel pilot (aside from Lando Calrissian, who is bound to show up in Episode VIII and Episode IX) to not make an appearance. Presuming that Lawson turns down any subsequent offerings to return, having a character carry on Wedge's legacy could serve as the next-best thing without not necessarily killing the original character off. We know that his character is going to appear in all three Sequel Trilogy movies, and that a "hint" as to who his character is are the initials "S.W." - which Grunberg has confirmed does not stand for Star Wars. "S.W." could possibly stand for Son of Wedge.

• Jossed. He's playing an adult version of Temmin "Snap" Wexley, the kid from the Star Wars: Aftermath novel.

Kylo Ren's unstable "junksaber" will prove critical in the film's climax

Seeing as Kylo Ren apparently built his Lightsaber himself without any instructions, diagrams, and basically made it out of junk, I bet its instability will come into play during the film's climax, and it will fail on him, allowing Fin or whoever has the final duel with Kylo to finish it.

• Jossed. Kylo does indeed lose the final duel, but his lightsaber is perfectly functional.

Luke isn't in the trailers because...

They're preserving a possible twist: Luke has been rebuilding the Jedi Order in secret until such a time when they can return to the fray and are needed once more. They might possibly save Rey and co. at the best possible moment. (i.e. when Kylo Ren is about to kill them)

• Jossed. Luke isn't in the trailers because he only appears in the final scene, and has no lines. He's in self-imposed exile because his New Jedi Order was destroyed by Kylo Ren.

The Big Bad will be...

Jar Jar binks. Evidence: http://m.imgur.com/gallery/Putq2

• Jossed. There are no references to Jar-Jar at all.

The movies will have mid and/or post-credit scenes.

Because Marvel Studios, Disney's other money-making franchise, does it.

• Jossed.

Lando will appear in The Stinger for Episode VII.

Because fan service.

• Jossed. There's no Stinger.

The Jedi Temple will be active on Coruscant once again.

Luke has had 35 years to restore the Jedi Order.

• Jossed. Although we don't see Coruscant in The Force Awakens, it's made clear that the Jedi Order is as dead as ever.

Luke and Leia will argue over whether or not Jedi are allowed to fall in love.

Leia wants to stay with Han, but Luke wants to respect the ancient teachings of the Jedi Order.

• Or the opposite. There is the theory that Leia and Han never married so she would remain eligible for political reasons and she could justify it with the Jedi code against marriage. Luke will insist she should have married Han as hiding his love for their mother is part of what lead their father to the Dark Side.
• Jossed. That subject never comes up between them. And it never will, since Han's dead and gone.

The Sith/Dark Jedi with the crossguard lightsaber is played by Gwendoline Christie.

• Jossed. Gwendoline Christie plays Captain Phasma (the "Chrometrooper").

Finn isn't actually a stormtrooper, but a spy for the the Resistance, and Luke's old apprentice.

• Jossed. Finn was raised as a from birth. Kylo Ren is Luke's old apprentice.

Kylo's blade will be Awesome, but Impractical in universe as well as in the fandom

In either this movie or one of the two following ones, someone will do exactly what fans predicted: cut through one of the cross blades on Kylo's lightsabre, possibly taking off some of his fingers or even his whole hand. After this, Kylo will get a cybernetic replacement and either start using a more traditional lightsabre, or go to the extreme opposite and start using an even more outlandish lightsabre design.

• Jossed. Kylo's lightsaber is perfectly capable in a duel. Though the blade has a bit of a wavering look, the crossguard gives him a considerable advantage in his duel with Finn, allowing him to grievously wound him by cutting into his shoulder.

Kylo Ren is the leader of the First Order

Looks like it

• Jossed. Supreme Leader Snoke is the leader of the First Order (hence his title). Kylo is a high-ranking enforcer, and Snoke's personal apprentice, but he's apparently at the same rank as General Hux.

The First Order is an allegory for Neo-Nazism

In the original trilogy, The Empire was meant to represent the Nazis, with Palpatine as Hitler. The First Order represents the Neo-Nazis, as they are both movements dedicated to the restoration of the principles of the old empires, and believe that it's their job to finish what their predecessors started. Hence the up to eleven Nazi symbolism.

• Jossed. The First Order is a full-blown military dictatorship with a fully functioning government, and it sprang from remains of the actual Galactic Empire after its defeat. It's more like the Taiwan to the Empire's China than the National Front to the Empire's Nazi Germany.

The Falcon was destroyed during the Battle of Jakku.

Rey has been living in the downed hulk and scavenging what she needs to repair it and escape desert life. This is why she needs BB-8 since an astromech can be a huge help with the repairs and explains Han's line of "Chewie, we're home!" since he meets her in the restored Falcon.

• Jossed. The Falcon was stolen and traded between various gangs on Jakku, but it's still very much functional. Rey lives in the downed hulk of an AT-AT, and she steals the Falcon to escape Jakku.

The plot is kicked off by a secret cache of Original Trilogy artifacts on Jakku.

Someone has been collecting, if not outright stealing, valuable items from the Original Trilogy era in the years since, including Anakin's lightsaber, Vader's helmet and the Millennium Falcon, as well as the film's McGuffin or the clue to the McGuffin's location (assuming it's not one of the listed items). Rey, a scavenger, discovers the cache on Jakku. The discovery prompts the First Order, under the leadership (or at least the direction) of Kylo Ren, to show up in force to seize the cache, which gets Finn into the plot. The Resistance arrives to counter the First Order's efforts, which gets Poe Dameron (and possibly Leia) into the plot. And Han and Chewie arrive to retrieve the Falcon, and in doing so help Rey and Finn (and maybe Poe) escape the First Order. The McGuffin is somehow Force-related, which is why Kylo Ren is after it, and this draws Luke into the plot as well.

• Jossed. The Millennium Falcon is indeed on Jakku, but the plot is kicked off by the discovery of a secret map to Luke Skywalker's location. Anakin's lightsaber is in Maz Kanata's fortress, and Darth Vader's helmet is among Kylo Ren's personal possessions.

Max von Sydow will play a Sith Lord

He looks perfect to play a Palpatine-esque Dark Lord.

• Considering he already has played a hammy evil overlord who nonetheless maintains gravitas and dignity, he is perfect. He would also be perfect for the elderly mentor-type, but it seems Luke Skywalker will fill that role to some degree for this movie.
• Jossed. Lor San Tekka is an old ally of the Resistance, and apparently some sort of village elder on Jakku.

Kylo Ren's real name is Kyle Solo

Ren cannot be his real name since he is a Knight of Ren. Kylo is a pseudonym he took based on his real name.

• Jossed. His real name is Ben Solo.

Oscar Isaac will play the son of Han and Leia.

Maybe he is the older brother of Daisy Ridley's character.

• Jossed, at least the part about being related to Han and Leia: a prequel comic shows that Leia knew Poe Dameron's parents.

There are two dark side groups in the movie.

The Sith dominated the past six films, but were supposedly wiped out by Palpatine and Vader's death. However, Star Wars Rebels has confirmed lower ranking dark siders like the Inquisitor as being part of the Imperial command structure. These Inquisitors will be the main anti-Jedi threat in the film, until someone digs up Sith artifacts and starts surpassing them. The Inquisitors may also wear the chrome stormtrooper armor with the clothe hood seen on set.

• The film's main Inquisitor may be played by Gwendoline Christy, and she may have a fight scene with Luke, in which he will do a light side version of the lightsaber duel from ESB; He'll utterly ''destroy'' her in the fight incapacitate her, then try and turn her to the Light Side.

• Jossed. There's just the First Order, which is led by the Dark-sider Surpreme Leader Snoke and his protege Kylo Ren. Though the Knights of Ren were apparently once a separate organization (Kylo is still called "The master of the Knights of Ren"), they've apparently been integrated into the First Order.

John Boyega's character is actually Kyle Katarn

Judging from what we know about "Finn" so far (that he works for the First Order/Empire, he defects, and he appears to be force sensitive), he seems to be *very* similar to Kyle. Add in the fact that Kyle is one of the most popular EU characters and that Disney might very well want to include some of those popular EU characters (as noted in all the conversation about Mara Jade), and it seems very likely that Boyega's playing Kyle, or if not at least an Expy of him.

• Jossed. He was never given any other name other than "FN-2187" until Poe dubbed him "Finn".

Kylo Ren is an Inquisitor.

Before The fall of the Empire, Ren was just one of many enforcersof the Empire with a limited use of the dark side. After the deaths of Palpatine and Vader, Ren sought to rebuild the Sith Order by recruiting the Inquisitors with promises of wealth and power. In the time between ROTJ and TFA, Ren has been studying the ancient arts of the Sith, gaining enough power to challenge the heroes. This is where his obsession with Darth Vader came from, as he felt that since Vader was the last Sith apprentice, he is the key to the mysteries of the Sith.

• Jossed. He's a fallen Jedi, and the leader of the Knights of Ren (a mysterious Jedi splinter group in league with the First Order).

Finn will have a When He Smiles moment.

Finn seems to spend most of the movie looking either scared, horrified, or stoic. But at the very end, either during the medals ceremony or after he and Rey get ready for their next adventure, he'll finally show a genuine smile. And it will be adorable!

• Jossed. Finn definitely has his adorable moments ("The name's Finn, and I'm in charge here!" "It'll be fine! We'll use the Force!" "I'm kind of a big deal!"), but he has neither a medals ceremony nor an And the Adventure Continues moment with Rey. The movie ends with him in a coma following his duel with Kylo Ren, with Rey embarking off alone to train under Luke Skywalker.

Han will die, but not without callback lines.

He will probably die saving Luke and Leia. He will look at Luke and say, "Remember when I said that I owe you one? This is the one." His last words to Leia will be, "Leia, I..." and as he struggles to breathe out the next few words, Leia will say, "I know," and kiss him passionately.

• Jossed. Han does die, but there are no callback lines. Although the death scene itself is a callback...

There will be a reference to Chewbacca having met Yoda.

Maybe Luke will ask Chewbacca, "When you met Yoda during the Clone Wars, was he as strange as he was when I met him?"

• Jossed. No mention at all.

C-3PO will regain his memories of the events of the prequels.

Maybe the memory was put on some back-up drive and given to R2-D2 for safe-keeping.

• Jossed, at least for TFA.

The main character played by John Boyega is Luke Skywalker's son

Jesse Plemons competed for his role and was rumoured to be vying for the role of Luke's son.

• Although, if Daisy Ridley plays the daughter of Han and Leia as rumored, that would exclude them being love interests as many had concluded.
• He could well be his son emotionally if not biologically, by way of being his apprentice. It seems George Lucas wanted Luke to be a celibate hero, so it would make sense.
• Jossed.
  • How is it Jossed? There's nothing pointing towards him being Luke's son, but nothing pointing against it, either.
    • Did that troper mean Jossed for The Force Awakens?

Daisy Ridley's character is tempted by the dark side

Some suspicious hashtags were left on videos of her stunt training.

• The stunt training was apparently done for a different project. In addition, the Instagram account she apparently had was fake.
• Jossed. Rather explicitly, in fact.

Luke will train a new Jedi and then will be killed

It happened in The Phantom Menace with Qui Gon, it hapened in A New Hope with Obi Wan, and this time will be Luke's turn.

• Furthermore, Mark Hamill reportedly grew a beard for Episode VII, so now he even looks the part of the Old Mentor.
• Jossed in regards to TFA. Luke isn't even in the film until right at the very end.

Daisy Ridley's character...

Will be introduced as Han and Leia's daughter, and a would be Jedi seeking training from her Uncle Luke living in exile. However we will learn that she is Luke's own daughter, whom he gave over to the Solos in order to protect her from the new trilogy's Big Bad.

• Jossed.

The Big Bad for Episode VII, and the Sequels as a whole will not be a Sith but be....

A group of extremist Knight Templar Jedi that broke off from the New Jedi Order led by......Luke Skywalker, turned to the dark side. If the rumors on the script are right the destruction of the Death Star the galaxy has been in a perpetual state of civil war with the various remnants. What if Luke, in the years since Jedi, has grown extremely powerful in the Force, and at the same time has come to a realization that the cost of this war has been too great, and too many innocent people have died. He determines that it is time for him to put his power to good use and end the Galactic Civil War. For the betterment of all he will stop the fighting.....alone, maybe embrace the Dark Side for the greater good of the Galaxy. Maybe they could even add his wife (perhaps a Mara Jade Expy) dying in the backstory because of these conflicts to add some reason to his actions. Most likely, to retain moral "legitimacy" he does not name his new group the Sith either. The Sith could exist, maybe to unify the Imperial remnants, but as a side villain to this breakaway sect.

• Jossed: It has been confirmed that the villain of Episode VII will indeed be a Sith.
  • Only partially, the Sith could be the obvious villains at first, but it is unclear if they will be the main villains for the saga or just for part of it, and there could be a twist having a extremist sect of the Jedi manipulating events from behind with the Sith gradually playing a secondary role to Dark!Luke and his Jedi faction.

Chewie will finally earn a medal.

• Jossed.

Han and Leia's daughter will lose an eye before or during the first movie, and thus wear a semi-iconic eyepatch

Debra Doyle & James D. Macdonald will be in on the obscure joke and laugh at the borrowing from their Mageworlds series.

• Jossed. Han and Leia don't have a daughter.

Luke's first line in the film will be, "Hello there."

It would be a callback to Kenobi's first line.

• Jossed.

The film will acknowledge the Endor Holocaust.

The newest (as of April 16th, 2015) trailer shows a crashed X-Wing and Star Destroyer in a desert, but we never saw a battle involving those two types of ship over Tatooine. Perhaps the destruction of the second Death Star will turn out to have damaged the moon's ecology after all. (We're also shown Vader's burnt mask, which was the result of his cremation on Endor. I admit that's circumstantial at best, though it does suggest that somebody went back there.)

• Jossed. The desert planet is an entirely new one called Jakku.

Kylo Ren is a chick.

The casting of Adam Driver is just a cover-up. Remember who's making this thing.

• Jossed.

Finn is Force-sensitive.

• His desertion after the massacre isn't just a "Not what I signed up for" moment, but because he is metaphorically gutpunched by the wounding of the Force that the massacre is causing, much like Obi-wan and the annihilation of Alderaan and all its souls.
  • Concept art shown at Celebration shows him with Luke's original lightsaber. So possibly confirmed. Unless he was just holding it.
  • Seems to be confirmed as of the poster shown at the D23 show, which shows him wielding an active lightsaber.
• Jossed.

The Big Bad will be Darth Vitiate

Before anyone yells at me, hear me out. Some speculation suggests that Kylo Ren will be The Dragon to the real Big Bad and that Kylo Ren also seeks to open a Sith tomb. This is a great way to reintroduce some Old Republic-era characters into canon. Also Andy Serkis claims his character to be "undead". This leads to a theory...in the new canon Vitiate could have been the original Jedi Knight that founded the Sith 2000 years ago on Moraband (known to the original EU as Korriban), and Ziost and Dromund Kaas could also be reintroduced as worlds that made up the original Sith Empire. In a sense this would make him a Composite Character not only of his legends counterpart but also other legends Sith Lords such as Ajunta Pall and Darth Ruin. Perhaps he achieves immortality, but gets imprisoned by the Ancient Jedi order or even by his own followers, considering the backstabbing nature of the Sith (bonus points if these followers are Revan, Malak or any of the Sith Lords seen in the KOTOR-TSL-SWTOR era reintroduced into canon, or even Darth Bane to create his own Rule of Two). And by the time of the new trilogy, perhaps Kylo Ren will have found a way to free the original Sith Emperor from his imprisonment.

• Jossed.
  • Actually not. Snoke could be Tenebrae in the new canon. Most likely he went into hiding after his supposed defeat and built up a plan to take over the Galaxy even more longer than Darth Bane's plan considering that he was active since the Clone Wars. Episode VIII could reveal him to be the Man Behind the Man for Palpatine and even Bane as well.

Kylo Ren will undergo a Heel–Face Turn and join the heroes' side

In my mind, one of the greatest demons gnawing at Luke's conscience by the time of the Sequel Trilogy is his failure to successfully save his father in Return of the Jedi. (Yes, failure. Though Anakin was redeemed, he died in the process—despite Luke's heroic efforts to get him off the Death Star) So, when Luke encounters another Dark Jedi, he'll see this as a second chance to get it right and bring another convert to the Light Side. And this time, he'll succeed, finally giving him a chance to exorcise the demons from his past. Need some supporting evidence? Well...

• As multiple people have pointed out, it seems rather conspicuous that the apparent Big Bad of The Force Awakens has the rather harmless-sounding name "Kylo Ren", despite the Star Wars franchise being infamous for having villains with Names to Run Away from Really Fast. That's because Ren isn't meant to be a Card-Carrying Villain: he's an ordinary guy corrupted by the Dark Side, but not beyond saving.
• If the shot of Vader's helmet in the trailer is any indication, Luke's memories of his father are still very much present in this installment. It makes sense that the movie would explore Luke's guilt over Anakin's death.
• Ren is significantly younger than Anakin was in the Original Trilogy, so it's logical that he would still have time to turn his life around.
• Though JJ and co. definitely want to bring back the aesthetic of the Original Trilogy, it seems like they would also want to go out of their way to avoid being accused of rehashing its plot. So what haven't we seen in previous Star Wars movies? Well, we've yet to see a fully redeemed Sith Lord, and we've yet to see a Token Evil Teammate on the heroes' side yet. This movie would be the perfect point to introduce both.
• Contrasting theory: what if the Big Bad is the one to make a Heel–Face Turn, and Kylo Ren becomes the Dragon Ascendant
• Jossed so hard it's not even funny.

This time, the Opening Scroll will unfold over the night sky

Because it would be the perfect way to subvert audience expectations of a beloved series tradition without shaking things up too much. This time, just as the opening crawl finishes and we expect the camera to pan over to a spaceship flying through deep space, instead it'll pan down to a tranquil night scene on the surface of a planet, showing us that we were actually looking at the night sky.

• Jossed.

Kylo Ren will be set up as an Evil Counterpart to a younger Luke

This bit of speculation came up in the most recent Entertainment Weekly feature about Kylo Ren, after J.J. Abrams revealed that Ren's distinctive cross-guard lightsaber is actually a homemade saber that he fashioned himself—hinting that he's a lone aspiring Knight of Ren who rose up from humble origins, much like Luke rose up from his humble origins as a Tattooine farm boy to become a Jedi. If you look at some of the available details about Ren, it actually makes sense that he'd be written to resemble Luke: he's considerably younger than the average Star Wars villain, making it likely that he's around the age that Luke was in the original trilogy; his distinctive all-black wardrobe forms a nice contrast to Luke's iconic white costume in A New Hope; and the First Order appears to be based in and around an ice planet (possibly Hoth), forming a nice contrast to Luke's desert homeworld.

• Jossed.

Luke Skywalker will die.

Mark Hamill grew a beard for his role in The Force Awakens. But in recent videos taken at cons and such, you can see that he shaved it off.

Now think about this. What happens in the first film of the Original and Prequel trilogies? That's right, the Mentor dies — and passes the torch to his successor. It happened with Qui-Gon, who passed the torch to Obi-wan, and then again with Obi-Wan himself, who passed the torch to Luke. It makes perfect sense that Luke will die (perhaps at Kylo Ren's hands) and pass the torch to his own successor (most likely Finn or Rey). We already see him hand his lightsaber to someone in the second teaser trailer.

• Actually, Mark Hamill is over at Skellig Michael to shoot part of Episode VIII. So unless he appears as a Force Ghost, I'm calling jossed on this one.
  • It is, in fact, Jossed. He's only in it at the very end of the film, and he is very much alive.

General Hux will be a General Failure.

Domhnall Gleeson is much younger than your typical general, which implies he got his post by less-than-ethical means. Perhaps he has a prominent family member that got him his post.

• Jossed. We never learn anything about Hux.

General Hux will die in TFA.

If we think of the villains as Expys of the original trilogy villains, Kylo is Vader, Phasma is Boba Fett, Snoke is the Emperor, and Hux is Tarkin.

• Jossed. He survives.

Luke is entirely absent from trailers and posters because he is already dead.

The scene with the man with the robot hand who everyone assumed was Luke is either not him, or a flashback. Luke will have died before the events of the movie and will only appear as Force ghost.

• Jossed. He's alive.

Rather than the usual "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." blue opening text:

The movie will do something different and take note of the amount of time that has passed since Return of the Jedi ended. Instead the opening will say something like: "Not so long ago in a galaxy far, far away....". To say this will cause...controversy is an understatement.

• Jossed.

Kylo Ren is not an assumed name

Since the crew name dropped the "Knights of Ren", people have assumed that Kylo took the name on when he joined. But since the third trailer released, there's a shot of Kylo standing among a group of similarly dressed people, even down to the masks they're wearing. So these are probably the Knights of Ren, right? However, note that none of them aside from Kylo is holding a lightsabre. Instead they're all carrying blasters. Maybe Kylo was the one who created the Knights of Ren, naming them after himself. It could have been his attempt to try and start a new Sith Order out of reverence for Darth Vader, but he was the only member who was Force sensitive, so it never really took off.

• Jossed. Kylo Ren is the alias of Ben Solo, Han and Leia's son.

Luke Skywalker spends most of the film as a captive of the First Order, and the new Power Trio have to rescue him (a la Leia in the original film).

Between the three trailers, we've seen clips of Luke — or at least, of a figure wearing Jedi robes with a cybernetic hand — on a dark, rocky planet, and of a First Order attack force led by Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma kicking arse and taking names on what appears to be the same planet. This is either the opening of the film or a flashback to something that happened previously. In the third act, the Power Trio will have to rescue him from Starkiller Base.

• Jossed. Luke is barely in the film.

Finn will lose his hand to Kylo Ren

He looks seriously worried and out of his depth in the trailer; Kylo will likely overpower and defeat him. And getting a hand cut off is a classic Star Wars Once an Episode occurrence.

• Maybe they'll deliberately turn the trope on its head and have him lose a leg instead.
• Jossed. No limbs are lost, surprisingly.

Finn is actually Luke's offspring, not Rey.

First off, yes, I know what the obvious retort to this is— hear me out. There's actually a lot of (what looks like, at least) foreshadowing. For one, there's the simple fact that he takes up Anakin/Luke's lightsabre. Secondly, Finn starting out as a can be seen as a parallel to how Luke originally wanted to join the Imperial Academy before seeing their true face; similarly, they both meet their first friends and solidify their decision to oppose the Empire/First Order on a desert planet. Aesthetically, the leather jacket and pants that he wears in most of his post-defection scenes is very similar in style and cut to the outfit Luke wore during the medal ceremony at the end of Episode IV. Like Luke, Finn is clearly immature and out of his element during his first adventure; Luke whined a lot, Finn is always nervous/freaking out. And a lot of dialogue/scenes in the trailers seem to suggest that he will be the one to continue the Jedi lineage; him wielding the lightsaber, the camera focusing on his face as Han's voice says "the Jedi," him facing off against Kylo Ren (itself a potential hint) just before Maz's voice says to let the Force in...there's a lot going on here. As for the "obvious" thing from earlier (the differing races)— who's to say that Luke's hypothetical wife couldn't have been black?

• Jossed.

The stormtroopers in this film are a new batch of mind-controlled clones, Finn's Heel–Face Turn came about because he suddenly gained free will thanks to the force

Finn's character arc will deal with his sudden loss of Freedom from Choice, as he looks for a new purpose in life after the loss of his original one (ie fighting for the first order), fortunately, he'll find a new purpose in fighting for the jedi order and the rebellion. This is the reason he looks so out of his element in most scenes we saw so far: this is the first time he had to think and make decisions for himself, after having spent his entire life thus far being told what to do. He took the name Finn after his callsign because he literally had no real name assigned to him before that.

• Jossed.

Han gave the Millennium Falcon back to Lando

A friend of Lando's will send it back to him to help him and Chewie with the conflict, leading to the "Chewie, we're home" line.

• Jossed. It was stolen from him.

Luke Skywalker's first proper onscreen appearance will be during a Big Damn Heroes moment.

We could see a couple of shots of someone implied to be Luke throughout the movie (think of that cloaked figure with Artoo in the trailers), possibly watching our new heroes from afar or something among those lines. The camera won't fully show him, though, just his eyes, or his cloak, or his artificial hand — maybe even his lightsaber. Later on, Finn will be hopelessly outmatched during that lightsaber battle with Kylo Ren due to inexperience on his part. Kylo will best him, disarm him, be about to fatally strike him down... when all of a sudden a cloaked figure with a green lightsaber will swoop in and promptly kick his ass and save Finn's bacon. After he's sent him packing, Luke will remove his hood, revealing himself to our heroes — and FINALLY to the audience. Cue cheering.

• Horrific plot twist: Luke reveals he has fallen into the Dark Side and he's the true leader of the First Order.
  • Heel-Face plot twist: It was all a massive plot to destabilize the First Order. Kylo is either Luke's mole or a patsy.
• Jossed. He doesn't appear 'til the end.

Finn inherits Luke's lightsaber from Lando

One of the most persistent rumors going around about the plot is that it will feature a lightsaber as a Macguffin (similar to how the Death Star plans functioned in A New Hope). Another persistent rumor is that Finn is actually related to Lando, and may or may not be his son. And one of the most persistent questions about the movie is "Where the hell is Luke?" Those three tidbits might actually be connected to each other.

Consider that in the Expanded Universe, we find out that Luke's original blue lightsaber was recovered by Imperial agents on Bespin after Vader cut off his hand, and Grand Admiral Thrawn eventually gives it to Luke's evil clone Lu'uke Skywalker so that he can face Luke in one-on-one combat. With the Expanded Universe declared non-Canon, one would assume that there's now a new explanation for what happened to the lightsaber after it fell down the shaft in Bespin. As the former administrator of Cloud City, Lando would presumably be in a pretty sweet position to get his hands on the lightsaber if Vader didn't get to it first.

Hence: Finn got the lightsaber from Lando, which interests Han, Chewie and Leia because it gives them a glimmer of hope that Luke (who will be The Ghost for most of the movie) is still alive. And when our heroes do reunite with Luke, we'll get an emotional moment when he gets to hold his old lightsaber for the first time in years, before deciding to pass it on to a worthy young successor.

• Jossed. Sorry.

Luke is on Sullust

The figure with the metal hand in the trailer did seem to be in the middle of some fiery volcanic landscape. Most guesses about Luke's whereabouts have assumed that the scene takes place on Mustafar (where Luke's father became Darth Vader), but the planet Sullust is an equally likely candidate. Why? Because Sullust is also known for its highly volcanic surface, because it's one of only two new maps featured in the recently released Star Wars Battlefront (2015) (the other being Jakku), because Battlefront now currently has the same level of canonicity as The Force Awakens, and because the behind-the-scenes feature clearly shows a latex mask for a character (possibly Nien Nunb from Return of the Jedi). It's logical to assume that Sullust will be one of the locations in this film, if only so that the filmmakers can avoid reusing Mustafar.Jossed. Luke is on a planet with oceans and islands when we see him at the end of the film.

Kylo Ren is Luke Skywalker

Jossed. Luke is Kylo Ren's uncle. Ren looks considerably younger.

Finn gets exiled from the Stormtroopers because he can shoot straight.

He's making them look bad.

• but Stormtroopers only miss when trying to shoot people with Plot Armor.
  • Jossed. He defects.

Chewbacca is the apparent body that Rey is crying over in the trailers.

Some people have done a breakdown analysis of the clip, and it looks like a glimpse of Chewie bandolier, as well as some of his body hair, can be made out. Supporting this, Peter Mayhew couldn't even play Chewie in some scenes, as he can't even get along without a cane, so it might be done for practical reasons as well as dramatic. Because it's Chewie, however, expect him to go out like a total badass.

• Jossed.

Luke's lightsaber is the movie's central Macguffin

Going off of the persistent rumor about the movie's plot involving the heroes' efforts to keep a lost lightsaber out of the First Order's hands. As mentioned in another theory: we still don't know what happened to Luke's original lightsaber after he lost his hand on Bespin,^note  The Expanded Universe said that it was recovered by Imperial agents and given to the clone Lu'uke Skywalker, but that explanation is no longer canon. but Finn's lightsaber does look almost exactly like that one. And everything that we know about Kylo Ren seems to suggest that he has an obsession with upholding Darth Vader's legacy. Remember that Luke's blue lightsaber originally belonged to Darth Vader, back when he was still Anakin Skywalker. So if Finn is indeed wielding Luke's lightsaber in the trailer, that means that he's also wielding Darth Vader's old lightsaber—which would explain why Kylo is so eager to get his hands on it, and why he's challenging Finn to a lightsaber duel. If he's devoted enough to recover Vader's charred helmet from his funeral pyre on Endor, imagine what he would do to find his signature weapon.

• Jossed.

Luke will pass his blue sabre on to Finn or Rey

Since Luke presumably still has his old green blade, there's no need for him to hold on to the blue one (especially since his losing it and replacing it with the green one was symbolic of his changed attitude towards his father). Having him give the blue blade to whomever becomes his apprentice would make sense from a practical standpoint, act as a nice mirror to how Obi-Wan gave it to him originally, and even be a nice reference to the original E.U when Luke gave it to Mara Jade.

• Appears to be Finn - he's wielding it in the D23 poster and in the Instagram sneak peek.
• Jossed - it's Rey that gets the sabre, but Luke does not personally hand it to her. In fact, she holds it out to HIM at the end of the film.

The new The Dragon will have been a stormtrooper in the Original Trilogy.

Not so lame now, are they?

• Jossed.

Kylo Ren is Darth Caedus

The story will be different, but he is Han and Leia's son (and maybe Rey's brother) and will have the same Sith name.

• Confirmed. Though "Kylo Ren" is actually his title, he is indeed Han and Leia's son turned to the Dark Side, and clearly based on Jacen Solo.
• Pretty much Jossed. While he is their son that turned to the Dark side the the similaraties stop there. Personality wise and objective wise as well as power wise they are two different people The only thing they have in common is that they are a Solo child gone evil . That makes Kylo more of an Expy of the character. Also one cannot assume he is based on the EU when 1) the EU was never made Cannon and 2) they only have one thing in common . Solo kid goes bad, besides that they have nothing to indicate that Kylo is based on Darth Cadeus.

Rey's heritage

Rey's name is a clue to her parentage: she is the daughter of Luke Skywalker.

"Luke" means "light", while "Rey" is a homonym of "ray". Rey is an offshoot from Luke. Star Wars has a history of meaningful names.

• Consider also that one of the two pieces of the map to Luke was left on Jakku, while the other was left with R2-D2, who reactivated when Rey arrived at the resistance base, as though the map was deliberately left for Rey to find.
  • Word of God debunked that, R2-D2 reactivated because it heard BB-8 asking for help.
    • Because they would never lie to avoid giving away plot details. Until it says so on-screen, it means nothing. Also, that just makes no sense: BB-8 is a member of the Resistance. That would have hardly been the first time it spoke to Artoo. For that matter, Threepio, Leia, and who knows who else must have tried countless times before. But Artoo suddenly decides to reactivate because BB-8 asked, but also decides to wait another several hours?
    • They've never lied before about the movie before. Played coy, sure, but not outright lied. Lying to your audience is a good way to lose them, so why would they start now? You can't just ignore what they say because you don't like it or because you think it doesn't make sense.
    • Clearly you have never heard of Lying Creator before. Or that they are technically telling the truth... From a Certain Point of View.
    • Except they haven't lied? People constantly tweet them about things like Kylo's age and whatnot, and those are taken as truth. Why should this be any different?
    • So if a creator who's trying to keep some things a secret says one truth, that means everything he says must be true then? Guess we have to take Obi-Wan's words about Darth Vader murdering Luke's father as 100% true then since he was correct about Luke's father being the best pilot in the galaxy, a cunning warrior, and a good friend.
    • Now you're using logical fallacies for the sake of your argument. There is a stark difference between what a character in a movie says, and what the writers of the movie say, especially since the Original Trilogy wasn't fully planned out and was prone to Retcon—Obi-Wan saying Darth Vader murdering Luke's father was true at the time because George Lucas hadn't fully planned everything out yet. And you still haven't answered why we can take the creators' words as truth when it comes to some things, but not this.
    • The creators have every reason to hide a secret from the audience, just like in-fictional characters. Remember that, in order to prevent leakers from spoiling The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas deliberately hid The Reveal of Darth Vader's relationship to Luke with a simple lie: Obi-Wan killed Luke's father.
• Rey is a naturally gifted pilot, like both her father and her grandfather.
  • Actually, she explains in her "Survival Guide" that she spent hours running flight simulations, and that's why she's skilled, not because of natural talent.
    • The fact that she trained does not mean she is not naturally talented. The fact that she was able to get so good just from simulations indicates that she is enormously naturally talented.
    • Or that she spent a lot of time practicing? Natural talent is not the only answer for her skills.
    • You can say the same thing with Luke or Anakin. They had plenty of time of practicing their skills.
    • Luke and Anakin are explicitly stated to be naturally talented at mechanics. Rey is not.
    • Rey is adept to fixing BB-8's antenna as well as knowing how to fix the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive switch. There is nothing suggesting she is not naturally talented at mechanics.
• She is also good with machines, not unlike the boy who built C3-PO.
  • That's because she spent her life scavenging for them.
    • Much how Anakin scavenged for the parts to build Threepio. Again, being naturally talented and experienced are not mutually exclusive.
    • They are not, but again, "natural talent" isn't the only explanation for her skills and can't be used as solid evidence.
    • Anakin and Luke had all the time to practice their skills and not "inherit them", but that does not stop Obi-Wan to compare their skills as natural talent.
    • Anakin had time to practice flying a starship (not a podracer, a *starship*, and yes there is a significant difference) as a nine-year-old slave boy? No, that was pure talent. Luke also never set foot on a ship before leaving Tatooine. Pure talent. Rey practiced through flight simulators through years. And no one ever calls Rey's skills at flying "natural talent".
    • Anakin states he was a pilot and he plans to leave Tatoonie one day on a ship. He also happens to work with a junk dealer with spaceship parts and he manages to impress Ric Olie, an Ace Pilot of the Naboo Starfighters, with knowledge of the piloting. Luke Skywalker pilots the Skyhopper in his youth, an aircraft that is stated to be quite similar to the X-wing in terms of control. They are no different from a flight simulator that Rey would practice upon (which by the way, the simulator practice was never shown on-screen, just like Anakin's and Luke's alleged past with piloting).
    • Anakin was also a nine-year-old boy trying to impress a pretty girl, and working with spaceship parts and knowing how they work is not the same thing as actually flying a spaceship or running a simulator. Same for Luke. And while Rey's simulator practice is never shown on-screen, she still says she practiced on simulators while she and Finn celebrate their first flight.
    • Obi-Wan mentions that Luke has become a good pilot himself despite the fact he never actually flown a spaceship before, meaning that the Skyhopper is indeed something you pilot. And that same Skyhopper, which you fail to counter, is explicitly stated to be similar to how an X-Wing works. Meaning that Luke himself can be considered just someone who practice piloting a lot and not natural talent by your definition. Any Skywalker's skills at piloting can be chalked up as just practice a lot. But Obi-Wan states that it was In the Blood.
• When Kylo Ren and Rey were both trying to pull what had been both Anakin and Luke's lightsaber to them, the lightsaber flew to Rey. Kylo Ren is Anakin's grandson through Leia; only Luke's child would have a better claim to the weapon, since it had also been Luke's.
  • On this point Maz specifically says to her "That lightsaber was Luke's, and his father's before him. And now, it calls to you!"
    • Maz also says that the family Rey is waiting for is never coming back, and then adds that Luke still could. Putting him in a different category from Rey's family suggests that he's not her family at all.
    • Or it could mean that while her family is not coming to find her on Jakku, she could find her family out there. Or it just means that her mother is not coming back for her on Jakku. Or Maz is just telling her that she needs to move forward.
    • If 1) is true and she's Luke's daughter, then it means Luke was never coming back for her—it means she had to go find him. It means Luke either abandoned her with no intention to return, or lost her without ever trying to find her. Both would be out-of-character and would make me lose all respect for him. 2) It could, or it could also mean her father is not coming back for her. We don't know if it was just her mother who abandoned her there. 3) Telling her to move forward by saying "your family is never coming back", and knowing they are, seems very cruel. I agree she was telling her to move forward, but I doubt she was lying about her family not returning—she told her to move forward because they aren't coming back.
    • 1) We don't know why Luke didn't even return for the Resistance, which is already out of character for him since the First Order is going around destroying planets unless he had a reason why. Plus Vader never bothered to search for his long-lost son since he assumed he was dead with his wife until he learned that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star was called Skywalker. 2) It could also mean that who ever abandoned was not her family to begin with. 3) Maz Kanata says "Whomever you're looking for, they are never coming back" and not "Your family" or "parents". That's an important thing to remember.
    • 1) I'm not talking about why he didn't return to the Resistance—I'm talking about why he didn't return for Rey, a five-year-old girl left abandoned on a desert planet. Vader didn't know his son was alive, Luke obviously would have to assume Rey is to abandon her in the first place. 2) Considering Rey constantly talks about them as her family, and was old enough to know the different, they probably were. 3) She says "whomever you're **waiting** for", not looking for. And Rey is waiting for her family, she says that time and again. Her family is never coming back, then Maz says Luke still could, putting them in a different category. Pable Hidalgo even stresses that the difference there is important.
    • 1) The Resistance point is to highlight the fact that Luke can already be considered out-of-character by some fans based on the limited information given. And you miss the point of Vader's belief. Vader was fooled into believing that his offspring perished thanks to Sidious's words and Padme's funeral with the impression of a pregnant belly. It is not hard for a villain to fake Rey's death and leave convincing evidence for Luke to find. 2) Considering she never brought up her family's name or try to find them with the little information she has, it indicates that she has no clue of who her family really is. Her own survival guide◊ even indicates she doesn't even know how she ended up on Jakku or why. 3) Which leads to the final point, that Maz Kanata does not know who Rey is waiting and Rey deep down knows it as well. Rey could have easily hold onto the delusion that the people who left her there is her family and not a villainous bunch of thugs.
    • 1) People can sense when someone close to them dies—that's how Leia knows Luke is alive, and how she sense Han's death. Luke would basically know Rey were still alive by her absence—Vader never got a chance to meet his kids or become aware of their "presence", so to speak, whereas Luke would. 2) How could she find them? She's stuck on a backwater planet with no way off or a way to get information on her family's whereabouts. She's basically in the real-world equivalent of a third-world, technology-less country. 3) She still puts "whoever you're waiting for" and "Luke" in separate categories. Even if the people who abandoned Rey aren't her family, she believes they are, and is waiting for them. If Luke's in a separate category from that, he can't be the one she's waiting for.
    • 1) Leia did state she knows Luke is alive because she felt it in the Force in The Force Awakens. And it's not like she only felt Han's death. In the novel, she felt the death of billions on the Republic capital. Not to mention she needs an ancient map to even find the whereabouts of her brother. It's not easy as you make it sound. 2) Tie-novels reveal that she could have easily hitched a ride on one of those spacecrafts a long time and when she finally gets on one, her first reaction is to return back to Jakku and still wait for her family. If she knew her family's name, she would never wait in vain on some backwater planet. Which means she doesn't actually know who her family really is. 3) Maz makes it clear that Rey's entire waiting for a family is just a fantasy that would get her nowhere. She did not imply that Luke and her family are two different things, for that would imply she knows everything about her.
    • 1) I think you're missing my point. I'm not saying the Force would tell him where she was, it would tell him Rey was still alive. If he knew she was alive, he had no excuse to hide out on a planet instead of looking for her. 2) Or she might wait on a backwater planet because waiting where someone left you, after a separation, is what you are supposed to do. Probably not for 14+ years, but Rey has proven herself to be very stubborn and very idealistic. 3) No, she did not. Never is it suggested that the people Rey was waiting for weren't her family—Pablo Hidalgo has even confirmed that the people Rey was waiting for were her family. When Maz says "whomever", she means Rey's family. And that they are NOT coming back, but Luke still could. He is in a different category from them.
    • 1) Then perhaps Luke's not as perfect as others make him out to be. Or that the Force can solve everything. Remember Vader and Leia. 2) That only exemplifies her naïve belief about her family coming back. Much like Luke refusing to leave his home on Tatooine because his uncle told him to stay. 3) Family is a such a vague word. Does he mean genetic family or adopted family? Was it the parents or just the mother? Always be wary of answers that Hidalgo would give when it comes to secrets.
  • In addition to the lightsaber flying to Rey because of her better familial claim, it would have also gone to her because Kylo is tainted by the Dark Side, and hence is unworthy of the weapon.
• Disney has reaffirmed that Star Wars is the saga of the Skywalker family. It would be contrary to that concept to have the main character of Force Awakens not be a Skywalker.
  • Though, if Rey's family is dead or not deserving of the title, (she was left with Unkar Plutt after all) she could be adopted into it. Leia was adopted after all and still goes by Organa. The story may be about the Skywalker family, but family isn't just blood.
    • Except Rey just so happens to have strong Force powers within her, and that is before she even met Luke. It seems awfully convenient that she would have Force powers if she was meant to be adopted by the Skywalkers and prove that heritage isn't blood. Would have worked better with non-Force user to send that kind of message.
    • Except that not all Force sensitivity comes from one's bloodline. There were people who weren't Force-sensitive but had kids who were, and vice-versa.
    • And yet not everyone is all Force sensitivity. Just saying, Rey suddenly being good and adaptable to using the Force and beating the grandson of Anakin Skywalker does not indicate her story is to earn the right to be a Skywalker, through hard training and forming a bond with Luke. Her story is more akin to discovering her true heritage and destiny hidden deep within.
  • ...are we forgetting that Kylo Ren is technically a Skywalker? He may not be a hero, but JJ Abrams did say his journey was also very important, and he is a central character. And Pablo Hidalgo has stated◊ that Kylo is the Skywalker of The Force Awakens, so the writers at least consider that quota filled.
    • An easy deflection to hide the paradox of Rey. Notice how all the six Star Wars films from George Lucas featured a central Skywalker protagonist: Anakin for the Prequel Trilogy and Luke for the Original Trilogy. The Force Awakens centers around Rey's story, which intertwines with Kylo Ren's. Why is she important if she is not related to the Skywalkers in a series about them?
• Jossed: JJ Abrams stated Rey's parents didn't appear in this film, meaning Luke can't be her dad.
  • Jossed again. he then clarifies that "she doesn’t discover them in Episode VII. Not that they may not already be in her world".
  • That's arguable; slipping up like that is a breach of the NDA contract, so he has to "correct" his statement to save face. His first, initial, off-guard response to a kid asking about Rey's parents was to blurt out that they weren't in the film, in words that don't remotely suggest she "doesn't discover them".
    • Or maybe, he lied. Just him saying John Harrison is totally not Khan Noonien Singh. You might make the argument that he regretted that deception and wouldn't do it again, but given his love for the mystery box, old habits die hard.
• The Last Jedi offers more evidence to Rey being the daughter of Luke Skywalker. Their relationship is central to the film, and the film has two big mysteries that need to intertwine based on the normal runtime: Luke's untold journey and Rey's untold origin. And they again state the film to be a continuation of the Skywalker family saga. With family heavily emphasized.
  • On the other hand, Daisy Ridley says that Luke has no idea who Rey is. Also, Leia and Kylo are still part of the Skywalker family.
  • Isn't possible that Luke may not have realized he had a daughter or that Daisy Ridley may not be telling the truth? Also, the film will center around Rey and Luke with Kylo Ren being the antagonist. The ST is her story, just like OT is to Luke and PT is to Anakin.
• It's worth noting that none of the new-canon materials taking place post-Return of the Jedi have actually focussed on Luke, or shown the specifics of what he was doing between then and The Force Awakens. We know the very basics — he was rebuilding the Jedi Order, his nephew was sent to him for training when he was around 10-12, Kylo/Ben fell to the Dark Side when he was 23 and killed all the students so Luke went into self-imposed exile — but there are many, many details we don't yet know. It sounds like there are details about this time period that they don't want us to know yet . . . maybe because it would spoil this movie. Like, for instance, that he did have a kid.
• Jossed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Rey is not Luke's daughter

• She's not that similar to him, personality-wise—he's brash and emotional, she's calm and logical. He also couldn't wait to go off Tatooine, whereas she just wanted to stay on Jakku.
• When talking to Maz in the cantina, Maz tells her that whoever she's waiting for—her family—is never coming back, then adds that there's someone—Luke—who still could. That puts Luke in a different category from Rey's family, which suggests he's not part of it.
• It's also been confirmed via Word of God that Rey was on Jakku by the time of the Jedi massacre, which didn't occur until Kylo was 23 and she was 12 (she looks to be 5-ish at the time of her abandonment), so the best reason for Luke abandoning her—protecting her—is very, very unlikely.
• People who are related can sense it through the Force. This doesn't necessarily mean Luke would be able to sense her existence, if he were unaware of it for whatever reason (like a one-night stand), but it does mean Leia and Kylo Ren would be able to sense their relation. Leia (and Luke, near the end) would have no reason not to tell Rey about their relation, but they don't. And considering that Kylo knows Rey is lonely and longing for family, if he could sense they were cousins, he'd probably use that to try and lure her to the Dark Side.
  • Darth Vader wasn't able to sense that Luke was his son in the first movie (nor did Luke sense that Vader was his dad), only that the Force was strong in Luke.
• This is more of an out of universe thing, but considering that most people expect Rey to be Luke's daughter, the writers don't really have a reason to be as coy about her heritage as they are. No one would be surprised if she were revealed as his daughter, so why bother keeping it a secret? Why play it up as a big surprise if it's just going to underwhelm people?
• Confirmed: JJ Abrams stated Rey's parents didn't appear in this film, meaning Luke can't be her dad.
  • Still, this should be taken with a grain of salt, considering his Lying Creator tendencies after denial of a plot point of Star Trek Into Darkness.
  • JJ Abrams has said that lying about Khan was a mistake. Pulling the same stunt twice, after admitting it was dumb, would be very bad for him.
    • Old habits die hard. Remember when a certain director swears he won't be making another blockbuster movie in 3D for a franchise after completing one, only to be do that very same thing a few months later? Considering that Abrams loves the Mystery Box, he could easily slip back to his old habits such as outright lying.
  • Apparently, Abrams corrected himself, saying that he meant that "[Rey] doesn’t discover [her parents] in Episode VII. Not that they may not already be in her world”, so it's all up in the air, really.
  • That's arguable; slipping up like that is a breach of the NDA contract, so he has to "correct" his statement to save face. His first, initial, off-guard response to a kid asking about Rey's parents was to blurt out that they weren't in the film, in words that don't remotely suggest she "doesn't discover them".
    • I heard it was a deliberate sentencing and not a casual slip up.
  • Rey could still be Luke's biological daughter whom he left with foster parents when she was a baby, for reasons that will later be explained. To Rey, these foster parents would be, for all intents and purposes, her real parents, and they might appear in episode VII or IX. So Abrams could've told the truth when he said Rey's (adoptive) parents didn't appear in episode VII.
• Adding credence to this theory, Daisy Ridley says that Luke has no idea who Rey is.
  • Keep in mind she could be lying. It's probably best not to take any statements from anyone involved with this movie at face value until it comes out.
  • It's also worth noting that if Luke wasn't involved in raising Rey, for instance if she had to be hidden from the antagonists, then he might never have actually met her.
• Confirmed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Rey's parents are dimensional travellers

From the Star Wars Legends universe. This revelation will mark the relaunch of that line. And There Was Much Rejoicing.

• Jossed. Her father was a clone of Palpatine.

Rey's father is Darth Vader

Rey is one of Palpatine's back up plans. Anakin had the highest Force potential of any known character and Palpatine had been watching him his entire life. At some point Palpatine obtained Anakin's genetic material and kept it in case Vader and his children failed to live up to his expectations (and it's safe to say that they did). One of Palpatine's minions set the plan into motion years after his death, either it took that long to find the information or waiting a long time was part of the instructions, and used Anakin's DNA to impregnate a woman loyal to the First Order. Once she was old enough to function relatively on her own they dumped her on Jakku, either to hide her from Luke and the New Republic or to simulate the same upbringing that made Anakin angry and bitter only this time without any loved ones to get in the way. When she finally snapped and tapped into the Dark Side the First order would have picked her up and Snoke would have trained her, likely as a replacement for Kylo Ren. Finn showing up and befriending her ruined everything.

• Jossed. Her father was a clone of Palpatine.

Rey's father is Rowan Freemaker

They have a lot of similarities. Both are scavengers, both have a natural Force aptitude they are able to tap with a minimum of formal training, and both have felt a call from a significant Jedi weapon. And both their names start with the letter R. From an out-of-universe perspective, this could be a ploy by Lucasfilm to introduce us to Rey's family without the fanbase immediately figuring it out by doing so in a comedic, LEGO-based, Loose Canon work, which will get less attention than other works. The alternatives are either too obvious (Luke Skywalker) or just don't make a ton of sense (Han and Leia, Obi-Wan, etc). The fact that the writers of The Freemaker Adventures have to work with the Lucasfilm Story Group also suggests that this work isn't entirely non-canon.

• Jossed. Her father was a clone of Palpatine.

Rey's mother is Jyn Erso

It could just be that the actors look similar, but we really don't know. A source puts Jyn's birth as 21 BBY, so she's just about the same age as Leia. She could've easily had Rey in her late 20s-early/mid 30s.

• Jossed by Pablo Hidalgo, Daisy Ridley, and Felicity Jones.
• Jossed. Jyn doesn't survive to the events of the original trilogy, and Rey was born well after the original trilogy ended.

Rey is a child of the Force itself similar to Anakin.

• So the connection to the Skywalkers isn't biological but spiritual, and most of her circumstances surround Luke having tried/trying to steer her away from the same issues that derailed Anakin and eventually turned him. However, now that Ben has gone over (and will presumably re-emerge in VIII much more powerful and dangerous) he's going to need her rapidly advancing power to stand against him, and instead of playing the Obi-Wan role to an Anakin Expy, he's going to play the Obi-Wan role to an Expy of his younger self - along with all that entails.
• Jossed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Rey is Luke's daughter, and he thought she was dead because she was deliberately hidden away.

• First off, Rey is eleven years younger than Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, her cousin. That means she would have been born around the time when Leia discovered that Snoke was actually a villain and had been messing with her son's head since he was a baby. This is exactly the kind of revelation that might cause Luke and Rey's mum^note Likely an expy of Mara Jade to decide to hide their child away so Snoke wouldn't be able to corrupt them. And they would have to keep Ben in the dark because Snoke would be able to get the existence of the child from him, if he knew.
• SO: Luke and Rey's mum stage a public breakup, and she heads off for a backwater planet accompanied by at least one other adult she trusts who knows about the whole situation. Leia and Han know something of what's going on, but not where the kid is being hidden. For the next five years, Rey grows up happily on this planet, totally oblivious to her own importance. Luke visits whenever he can get away without anyone not in the know noticing his absence.
  • Alternatively, he may not have a chance to visit and instead has to rely on infrequent messages sent covertly because his duties and fame are such that he can't sneak off to visit without being noticed. If he's never actually met his daughter in person or even had the chance to actually speak to her, it would explain Daisy Ridley's statement that Luke doesn't know who Rey is. (Unless she was lying.)
• Now, Snoke is somehow suspicious — perhaps the fake breakup wasn't quite enough to convince him — and has agents searching for whatever Luke is hiding. When Rey is five, the agents find them. Now, Rey's family have been Properly Paranoid, and they flee in their ship. However, they are forced to adopt radio silence, only being able to send Luke a pre-arranged code in case of just this situation. So Luke has no idea where they are.
• Rey's mum and the other adult(s) come up with a plan to shake off their pursuers and get somewhere safe. This plan, however, is quite dangerous and they don't want Rey on board for it. Passing through the Western Reaches, and in a hurry, they pick Jakku because it is an unimportant backwater. They leave Rey with Plutt for what is intended to be no longer than a week, bribing him a hefty sum. If they had had more time, they might have left her at Tuanul — but they don't. Rey's mum, as a final precaution, uses the Force to suppress Rey's memories so she doesn't innocently say or do anything that would give the shady characters at Niima Outpost any information on her true identity.
  • The memory wipe also means it's pretty likely that "Rey" is not any part of her real name, and she got it from Dosmit Ræh's helmet.
• What happens next is pretty cloudy. Perhaps the pursuers were attempting to drive them into an ambush. At any rate, the plan went wrong and Rey's mum, and whoever else was with her, are killed. Luke, and everyone else who knew about Rey's existence, think she's dead. Rey winds up stuck on a desert armpit for 14 years without knowing anything of her true identity. And Snoke, in all likelihood, used this incident as further ammunition to turn Ben away from his family.
• OR, alternatively . . .
• Jossed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Rey's mother hid her away, and Luke didn't know she existed

• So, again, Rey is conceived around the same time that Leia finds out what Snoke's been doing to her son. This time, however, Rey's mother, who is Force-sensitive, has a premonition/"bad feeling" and decides to hide her child on her own. She breaks up with Luke of her own volition to conceal the child's existence, and hides out somewhere, in a somewhat mistaken belief that this is the right thing to do to keep Rey safe. Things unfold as in the above theory, with Snoke getting suspicious and sending agents to track Rey's mum and whoever else she's with down, and the family is forced to go on the run. Things occur as described above, but either without a message to Luke or a message that either he doesn't completely get due to deliberately vague language, or he does understand but doesn't realize that Rey is his daughter. Ultimately, the result is (obviously) the same: Rey is stuck on Jakku with everyone who knew where she was dead. This variant would also explain Daisy Ridley's statement that Luke doesn't know who Rey is — unless Ms. Ridley was lying.
• Jossed. She's Palpatine's granddaughter.

Rey is a trained Force-user that had her memory wiped before she was ditched on Jakku.

• The memories of being left behind on Jakku by her parents? False memories planted in her head to keep her from leaving. It wouldn't be the first time the franchise has used a twist like this.
  • This would also imply that she's been on Jakku for much less time than she thought, which would explain her abilities in the Force.
  • Jossed.

Rey was deliberately bred to be Force-sensitive.

• A group of Jedi, unbeknownst to the Council, took it upon themselves to fulfill the "chosen one" prophecy. For generations, they conducted a selective breeding program designed to produce a child who could learn to use the power of the Light Side with the ease of the Dark, and who would rise above both sides to unite the Galaxy. Anakin Skywalker was an earlier, failed attempt at this, and when he wiped out the Jedi after turning to the Dark Side, the Jedi conducting the program were either killed or forced underground. Rey's appearance was therefore unexpected, and threw everyone else's plans into disarray.
  
  tl,dr; Rey is the Qui-Gon Haderach.
• Jossed. Her father was a clone of Palpatine.

Ray is a Time Lord

Because this way we can discuss Rey's heritage without discussing her relation to the Skywalker family, which based on the above guesses is dangerously close to Flame Bait and the ensuing debates seem to have the tendency to end up being proxy debates over how reliable JJ Abrams is.

• Jossed.

Supreme Leader Snoke

Snoke is actually Palpatine's Master, Darth Plagueis the Wise

This theory was all the rage for a while, though the filmmakers apparently Jossed it. The idea, supported by Snoke being pointedly referred to as "wise" and the similarities in Williams's soundtracks^note Between the score of Palpatine's speech about Plagueis in Revenge of the Sith and that of Snoke's first appearance in The Force Awakens., is that while Palpatine thought he'd killed his master, he was able to use his "power over life and death" to save himself, though grievously injured. Not feeling up to the task of taking power back from his apprentice and risk being finished for good, Plagueis lay in wait until Palpatine was dead.

• Jossed. He was created by Palpatine.

Snoke is another apprentice of Plagueis's

Since the above theory's been debunked, how about this? Darth Plagueis had an apprentice before Palpatine — Snoke. However,s caught he wa in some unknown accident, and presumed dead by Plagueis who proceeded to choose another apprentice, Palpatine. The injured Snoke was outraged that his Master hadn't used his powers to revive him and had instead replaced him immediately, which factored into why he didn't come back to him. Only when his more powerful rival Palpatine was gone, did Snoke decide to put his Sith knowledge to good (well, evil) use.

• Jossed. He was created by Palpatine.

Snoke and Palpatine were simultaneously Plagueis' apprentices.

Much like Palpatine and in Legends Darth Tenebrous, Plagueis ignored the Rule of Two and trained two apprentices. Snoke isn't a Sith because according to the Rule of Two he couldn't count as one, and worked on the more esoteric plans of Plagueis. Eventually Palpatine caught wind and fought Snoke to be Plagueis' only true apprentice, solidifying his position as a true Sith. That's why Snoke is in such a bad position, and he's been on the sidelines because he's afraid of Palpatine. It's possible he survived only because of the teachings he got from Plagueis, and may have even been almost immobile for decades.

• Jossed. He was created by Palpatine.

Snoke is a Sith Pureblood

It has been confirmed that the Supreme Leader is non-human, and implied from the second trailer to be involved with the dark side. But instead of being a member of Darth Bane's order, he is a descendant of the original red-skinned humanoids from Korri....sorry, Morriband now returned to the center stage of the galaxy once more.

• Jossed. He was created by Palpatine.

Snoke is Darth Maul

Seriously, no one's mentioned this yet? As the best part about the original prequel, it would be a surefire way to redeem the franchise.

• Pretty safe to say this one's Jossed. Snoke looks nothing like Maul, and Darth Maul turned up in Rebels and has now been Killed Off for Real.

Snoke is a Force-sensitive confidant of Palpatine and/or Darth Vader, from the Unknown Regions.

Let's look at the facts; he's old enough to have lived through the rise and all of the Empire. He leads the First Order, a splinter of the Galactic Empire, suggesting he must have had a lot of pull in the Galactic Empire to get his position. Most importantly he knows that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, and as seen in The Last Jedi visual novel he has some Sith artifacts. To have this knowledge and position, he is either really good at his research or (more likely) was high in the ranks. Particularly due to being a non-human in the discriminatory Empire.

Snoke was a confidant or other close ally from Palpatine. He originates from the Unknown Regions, hence why that's where the First Order is found. It is also why he and Palpatine were interested in one another. Star Wars: Aftermath shows the Emperor was interested in the edge of the galaxy and other less-explored regions like the Unknown Regions. Snoke offered Palpatine further reach, Palpatine offered Snoke power and they offered each other knowledge in the Force and the galaxy they had difficulty accessing. Eventually Snoke became part of the Empire's contingency plan, and with that learned more on Vader and his legacy.

• Jossed. He was created by Palpatine.

Snoke is a (modified) Anakin clone.

After being physically and mentally scarred after the events of Revenge of the Sith Palpatine was deprived of a "perfect apprentice" and it would be at least 20 years before he learns about Luke; before then he wouldn't have a viable replacement for Darth Vader. Since he has access to both his own and Anakin's DNA, the Emperor decided to try and make a new Anakin. The multiple Snokes in a tank? Well who says there's too much of a good thing? However cloning force sensitivity difficult as it is. Instead of a full clone a strandcast with Anakin's template as a baseline was made, with other DNA like his own added to the mix; Snoke looks close but not exactly like a human because he's a mutant human. However the unnatural attempts to recreate the Chosen One caused physical defects, hence why the Snokes in a tank also have deformities; they're also unnatural and unstable. Since Snoke was still powerful in the Force Palpatine kept him and his template around until he could find something better.

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