With The Force Awakens coming out in just a few days, I’ve collected some crazy theories as to what surprises the next film holds. Here they are:
Jar Jar Binks is the supreme villain of the Star Wars movies:
Our first theory comes to us via u/Lumpawarroo on Reddit. For those that don’t want to read the 4 page essay detailing the theory, here’s a brief summary. Based on his actions in episodes 1 through 3, we can conjecture that Jar Jar is possibly a force user and a trained warrior. The way he fights may seem clumsy and unintentional, but every move is calculated. Occasionally, Jar Jar performs feats that could have only been logically accomplished with the force. When Jar Jar moves up in the Gungan political scene, it looks suspiciously like he is using force persuasion. All these facts come together to suggest that Jar Jar is far more manipulative and powerful than what we see on the exterior. But, if Jar Jar was actually intelligent and powerful, he couldn’t have simply been a pawn in Palpatine’s grand scheme. It makes more sense that he was either Palpatine’s partner in crime or in fact the mastermind of the entire plan.
In interviews about The Force Awakens, Andy Serkis, the man who is in the motion capture for the enigmatic Supreme Leader Snoke (the assumed Palpatine figure of the next few movies), said that he couldn’t have simply physically acted as Snoke in the movies with prosthetics because of Snoke’s large physical stature and idiosyncratic face structure. Jar Jar could fit these parameters. According to pixel math and Star Wars lore, we know that Jar Jar is approximately 6’5”, which, while not enormous, would be difficult for the 5’8” Andy Serkis to portray. Jar Jar also has an idiosyncratic facial bone structure that would be near impossible to recreate with prosthetics and makeup. Honestly, as crazy as this theory is, I could actually see it being true. Luscasfilms has kept Snoke shrouded in mystery, and his physical characteristics described by Serkis seem very similar to Jar Jar’s. I would also love this twist, that Jar Jar, the character that we wrote off of as a useless caricature, was actually the meta-Palpatine, the supreme mastermind of the Sith. Also, the comedic effect of hearing “Meesa Back!” from a Sith Lord would be incalculable. Lucasfilms has denied that Jar Jar will return in the next film, however they may be lying to protect the surprise factor.
Luke has become a Sith Lord:
Ok, this theory has been circulated since Mark Hamill commented that Luke’s absence from the trailer was “No accident.” It makes some sense. We know that Mark Hamill is in the movie, but he isn’t in the trailer. Hamill himself stated that there was a reason that he wasn’t in the trailer. This could be because Luke has actually joined the dark side. In episodes 5-6, Luke does struggle with his emotions and does at some points trend towards the Sith hallmarks of hate and anger. It is entirely possible that after the death of his father, who in Luke’s eyes had been redeemed, and the completion of his mission, Luke lost purpose and was swayed to the dark side. It is widely known that the events in The Force Awakens occur roughly 30 years after the Battle of Endor, so that leaves 30 years of soul searching after Luke saw his redeemed father die in front of him. He could have been driven mad by the grief, and if that happened, it’s possible that he followed his father’s mission. However, this theory is extremely far-fetched and honestly would be a huge let-down. As the audience, we saw Luke struggle with his emotions, torn between the Dark Side and the Light Side of the Force, but in the end, he chose the Light Side by defying Palpatine. It would feel like a huge cop out.
Chewbacca dies: This theory is evidenced by the images shown in the trailer. Three images are very important for this theory. The first shows Finn, Han, and Chewie standing in the wreckage of a ship. This implies that in some point of the movie, Chewie was alive. However, he was strangely absent from the rest of the trailer. The second image was of Rey, Han, Finn, and BB8 moving towards a building, without Chewbacca in sight. Now, in the rest of the movies, Han and Chewie have been almost inseparable. In fact, there are very few scenes in which Han and Chewie aren’t together, excluding those when Han was frozen. The fact that Han is seen without Chewie sadly suggests that Chewie is otherwise occupied or has died. But the final nail in the coffin is an image of Rey crying over a brownish object; on its own, this may not mean much, but combined with the other two facts, it suggests that this brown mass that Rey is crying over is in fact Chewbacca. Although he is a favorite character, I could see Lucasfilm killing Chewbacca. It gives the other protagonists purpose, attempting avenge Chewbacca or honor his memory by stopping the plot of those that killed him.
Rey is Leia’s daughter, and Finn is Lando’s son:
There’s been a lot of speculation as to the identities of the the two protagonists, Finn and Rey. My personal theory is that Rey is Leia’s daughter and Finn is Lando’s son. Rey is most likely Leia’s daughter, judging from their physical resemblance and Lucasfilm’s affinity for creating familial relationships between its characters.
Now, on to the other one, Finn. It seems to be a lot less plausible as Finn seems to be a Stormtrooper at the beginning of the film, while his assumed father, Lando, was a member of the rebels. However, it is completely possible that the Republic had returned after the Battle of Endor and the Stormtroopers were split between the The Empire and whatever new government formed. Since Stormtroopers aren’t clones, and have their own free will and intelligence, they have the ability to choose their side. It is possible that Finn was on the new government’s side but was turned away from it by a catastrophic event. Now, why specifically Lando’s son? Well, there’s obviously some resemblance, but more importantly, if the rebels established a new government, Lando (and his family), would undoubtedly be involved in the new military as he is a war hero and established commander in the rebel army.
Kylo Ren is Rey’s brother:
This theory comes from the sequel books, which comprised the Star Wars canon before the announcement of The Force Awakens. In the sequels, Jaina Solo (Han and Leia’s daughter, analogous to Rey) and her brother Jacen, grew up with their famous parents. Jacen eventually became a Jedi Knight, and became known for his heroics. However, he became corrupted attempting to prevent catastrophe, eventually turning on his friends and family. This could be the same for Kylo Ren, a young son of Han and Leia, swayed to the dark side and attempting to follow his grandfather’s legacy.
