One of the biggest questions heading into Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the mystery surrounding Rey's parents. Abandoned by her mother and father on Jakku, J.J. Abrams left it open for writer/director Rian Johnson to deliver a big reveal in the follow-up to The Force Awakens.
In the time between movies, fans came up with all sorts of theories, only for it to be revealed by Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi that Rey's parents were nobodies, just filthy junk traders who solder her off for drinking money. It was a shocking twist, and while it fit the overall theme of the movie — that anyone is capable of accomplishing amazing things regardless of lineage — not everyone was happy with Johnson's narrative direction. And not everyone believes Kylo Ren was telling the truth to Rey.
The new Star Wars trilogy has been pretty fluid in its direction, and it's entirely possible that J.J. Abrams may decide to retcon Johnson's decision and give Rey a more connected lineage. If that happens, Rian Johnson wouldn't seem to mind.
Speaking to MTV News at CinemaCon, the director was asked if he has been kept in the loop with Episode IX and how he would feel if Abram's retconned Rey's lineage.
"I've had a couple of conversations with [Abrams] but I've actually really enjoyed sitting back waiting to get my popcorn opening day and see how the thing turns out. I cannot wait," Johnson told MTV News.
When asked about the possibility of Abrams altering the lineage of Rey's parents, Johnson was completely open to it. "Like I said, I want to let go of all my expectations, I want to sit back, I want to be entertained. I want to be surprised. I want to be thrilled. I want him to do stuff that I wasn't expecting him to do and just go along for the ride," Johnson said. "For me, that's why I go to the movies."
Despite the mixed reactions to The Last Jedi, Disney and Lucasfilm saw enough creative vision from Johnson to have him write and direct a brand new trilogy of Star Wars movies separate from the Skywalker saga. He was briefly asked for an update on the status of those films, to which he responded, "Still working on it. I'm excited about it. We're just working ahead on it and they're figuring out, slate-wise, how it's all gonna lay out. They're working that up, and I'm just chugging away on it, and I can't wait to get back into it."
Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20. Disney and Lucasfilm have acknowledged that it may be best to slow down the pace in which they release new Star Wars films, but there are numerous shows — both animated and live-action — set in the galaxy far, far away coming to the Disney+ streaming service.