The Star Wars sequel trilogy was a huge success from a financial standpoint, and while the first two movies also fared very well with critics, The Rise of Skywalker is widely regarded as a bit of a dud.
One of the main elements that came in for a lot of backlash from the always vocal fanbase was a lack of connectivity between the events of The Last Jedi (which proved divisive in its own right) and the concluding film, with Rey going from a force-sensitive nobody whose parents sold her off on Jakku to Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter.
The retcon really didn't make much sense given what we'd seen play out in the previous films, and was generally attributed to director J.J. Abrams attempting to bring The Rise of Skywalker more in line with The Force Awakens.
However, Rey actress Daisy Ridley has now revealed that the "no one" idea came from Abrams in the first place, and wasn't something The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson implemented when he stepped in to helm the second chapter.
“Well, J.J. [Abrams] was the one who was like, she is of no one, so it wasn’t just The Last Jedi where that was the message,” Ridley tells Rolling Stone (via SFFGazette.com).
So, if Abrams was always going with the "no-one" origin, who came up with/insisted on the Palpatine thing?
As for how the actress feels about the change, she takes a more neutral stance than some of her co-stars.
“What was interesting about the last one, for me, was that you can be a hero and not come from anywhere or you can be a hero and come from literally the worst person in the universe. You’re not your parents, you’re not your grandparents, you’re not your bloodline and you’re not the generations before you. So, I was always like, sure.”
“But it’s beyond my pay grade,” she added. “I say the words, do the thing. I do love the version of, you can be anyone you want to be, but I also love the version where you can rectify wrongs and can’t help what you’re born into.”
Rey being Palpatine's potential heir of evil is certainly an interesting idea, but the way it was handled in The Rise of Skywalker felt more like a misguided attempt to placate the fans than a natural progression of the story.
Ridley has already admitted that she'd be more than willing to reprise the role, so perhaps we'll get to witness the further adventures of "Rey Skywalker" down the line.