Made In Hollywood-Chapter 927: Rey’s Mother

A hundred people have a hundred Hamlets in their hearts. Although the film revealed some hints, the debate among fans about Rey’s identity grew even more heated. The information Duke provided in the movie was intentionally ambiguous, designed to spark controversy and discussion—because where there is debate, there is attention, and where there is attention, there will be widespread social discussion.

Someone on Instant Share posted that Rey was a descendant of Obi-Wan, and with just that single message—without giving any detailed reasoning—others immediately left rebuttals.

"Rey is absolutely Luke Skywalker’s daughter."

This person even gave their reasoning: "Rey’s sensitivity to the Force is so strong—she defeats Kylo Ren, who’s been training for ages, in just a few moves. Whether that’s reasonable or not aside, someone who’s self-taught to that level must have an exceptionally pure bloodline, right?"

Just as those words were posted, another person refuted them: "There’s a huge problem here—when did Luke ever have a kid’s mom?"

The previous commenter fell silent for a while, while the original poster of that Instant Share thread finally typed out their own reasoning for believing Rey was Obi-Wan’s descendant.

"Since Rey’s strong connection to the Force must be tied to her pure bloodline, and judging from The Force Awakens, Rey’s power even surpasses Luke’s back in the day. If she’s not one of Luke’s descendants, who else could have such a strong Force sensitivity? Rey could be a descendant of Obi-Wan, the mentor who once guided Luke. Of course, such speculation always loops back to the same question—’Who’s the mother?’ It’d be a bit damaging to the heroic image of our Jedi protagonists if we suddenly claim that one of them accidentally fathered a child out of wedlock..."

And so, the topic naturally shifted to who Rey’s mother was and from there, discussions went completely off track.

In this modern era, it’s an undeniable fact that major discussions on the internet can deeply influence real-world society. The film’s midnight premiere box office was high enough; by that logic, breaking records on its opening day wasn’t a problem either. Duke created such a buzz, igniting countless debates, precisely to ensure that the film maintained a stable and healthy box office trajectory.

The internet was filled with speculation about who Rey’s father and mother were. Each related comment or theory easily attracted tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of views. Yet among all these voices, something seemed to be missing.

Everyone assumed that Rey came from a famous lineage and possessed a pure Force bloodline, but no one speculated in the opposite direction.

To further amplify the discussion, Duke’s online PR team released another theory on Instant Share.

"Rey isn’t connected to anyone! She’s a completely new character—a brand-new story, no ties to the old ones. The Force is everywhere, and it’s not like only Obi-Wan, Luke, or Han Solo can have kids. Let Rey simply be a Force-sensitive girl in her own right!"

Many fans began to hope that the extended director’s cut might provide an answer, but Duke announced via official Twitter and Instant Share that Star Wars: The Force Awakens would not have any extended version released. "If you want to figure out who Rey really is," he said, "go find the answers in the movie itself."

Fans who hadn’t yet seen The Force Awakens were still waiting in long lines to buy tickets, while those who had already watched it were so intrigued by all the speculation that they couldn’t resist returning to the theaters. However, by Friday afternoon and evening, tickets for immediate showings were completely sold out—they could only buy tickets for the next day.

Indeed, theaters across North America were practically bursting with crowds. From Friday afternoon all the way through the evening’s prime hours, almost every showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was completely sold out. Many cinemas had to open additional auditoriums and screens for the movie, yet still couldn’t meet the overwhelming demand.

By Friday night, AMC, Empire Entertainment Group, and other major North American theater chains repeatedly increased the number of screenings for The Force Awakens. In mainstream commercial theaters, the film’s screening ratio reached nearly 80%, yet the crowds waiting outside theaters showed no sign of decreasing.

This resulted in an absolutely staggering opening day box office figure.

"A New North American Single-Day Box Office Record Has Been Born!"

Early Saturday morning, countless people saw that striking headline in newspapers and across the internet.

"On the Friday just passed, all of North America was engulfed in Star Wars fever. On its opening day, Star Wars: The Force Awakens easily broke past the $100 million mark. According to the latest box office data, its first-day total was approximately $165 million. Based on U.S. media analysis, after its first weekend, the film is expected to earn at least $300 million domestically."

"Directed by Duke Rosenberg, this brand-new Star Wars film has lived up to expectations. Judging by current trends, it’s certain to break multiple records:

1. Surpass The Avengers’ $243.31 million opening weekend record;

2. Break Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’s $49.5 million midnight screening record;

3. Surpass The Avengers’ $100.66 million Friday opening day record."

"In overseas markets, The Force Awakens is also dominating without competition. As of early this morning, the film ranked number one in box office earnings across 84 foreign territories, grossing about $286 million internationally. It shattered opening-day records in the U.K., Germany, Australia, and many other countries. Many now predict that The Force Awakens will ultimately surpass Avatar’s $2.7 billion global box office record."

"Meanwhile, The Force Awakens has also received an overwhelmingly positive response from North American audiences. According to CinemaScore, the film’s audience approval rating currently stands at 96%. It has also been selected by the AFI as one of the Top 10 Films of 2015."

"However, most of The Force Awakens’ pre-sales were concentrated on Thursday and Friday, driven mainly by Star Wars and Duke Rosenberg fans. This has led many media outlets to wait and observe Saturday’s results — as the Saturday drop rate will directly indicate how long the film can maintain its momentum."

Just as the media noted, if after the first day — especially once the crucial Friday and Saturday peaks passed Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ daily box office were to plunge, it would certainly fail to meet Duke and Lucasfilm’s expectations.

That’s exactly why they engineered so many talking points in their marketing strategy.

In today’s era, every commercially successful film is the result of meticulous planning. Anyone who believes that having a famous director, big stars, and a powerful IP alone guarantees massive success—without investing significant time, effort, and money into marketing—is sorely mistaken. Such a film would inevitably fall far short of expectations, or even flop disastrously.

Warner Bros. and Lucasfilm’s strategy was crystal clear: while maintaining strong general publicity efforts, they would further amplify discussions and hype surrounding Rey’s identity.

On Saturday night, Saturday Night Live aired a pre-recorded Star Wars special episode.

No publicity or marketing plan ever comes out of nowhere; each is the result of meticulous planning and careful execution. The controversy surrounding Rey’s identity as a promotional topic was no exception. Long before the film’s release, Lucasfilm had already negotiated this special with Saturday Night Live and invited many people closely connected to Duke to participate in the recording.

The guests appearing on the show were enough to make many other film crews envious—Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron, Sofia Coppola, and even Irene Lauder from outside the industry...

And the topic they discussed in the program was only one: Who exactly is Rey?

"The beautiful, intelligent, and incredibly powerful female lead in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is truly eye-catching, and her mysterious background has drawn a lot of attention."

In a café-like setting, Leonardo leaned back on the sofa, speaking as the host, "At present, there are several popular theories—Rey is a descendant of Luke Skywalker, Rey is a descendant of Han Solo, Rey is a descendant of Obi-Wan... But all these answers can’t avoid one question: Who is Rey’s mother?"

After saying this, he looked at Charlize Theron. Among everyone present, only she had actually participated in the film’s production.

Charlize Theron shrugged. "I don’t know who it is either. I asked, but Duke wouldn’t tell me. He only said that Rey’s mother definitely isn’t the character I played."

Since they had already opened their minds to wild speculation, Leonardo and the others encouraged the audience to take it even further.

"Another cup of coffee..."

After the temporary actor playing the café waiter served fresh cups to everyone gathered around the table, Leonardo continued, "Now, please pick up your coffee cups, and let’s play a little deduction game together."

Charlize Theron, Irene Lauder, and Sofia Coppola each picked up their cups and took a sip.

Turning his cup slowly, Leonardo went on, "Here are the clues we already know: Rey is an orphan; she has an exceptional talent for mechanics and is very skilled at piloting; she lives alone on Jakku as if waiting for someone; her sensitivity to the Force is extremely high, even able to defeat Kylo Ren—who trained from childhood as a Skywalker—with ease despite having no formal training; she can hear the call of Anakin’s lightsaber; and through Kylo Ren’s intrusion into her mind, we learn that she often dreams of the ocean and an island within it."

"And also the scenes that appear in Rey’s vision," Sofia Coppola added, setting down her cup. "In the Cloud City vision, Rey sees Luke’s duel with Darth Vader, then sees Luke resting his hand on R2-D2 amid ruins, Kylo Ren massacring the Jedi Academy, and finally a five- or six-year-old Rey wearing a Jedi youngling robe being left on Jakku. Interestingly, Obi-Wan’s voice in that sequence comes from both of his actors."

"Alright, those are all the clues we know," Leonardo looked toward the other three. "So—what do you think?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

...

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