An interesting comment from a Twitter user prompts the question: Are parts of Rey’s vision in The Force Awakens are from the future?
A Star Wars fan on Twitter, Andrew Lupi, tweeted the following idea: What if the scene from Rey’s vision where Kylo Ren is standing in the rain with his knights around him is a glimpse into the future? Perhaps the fan was speculating on an imminent massacre which Rey will be responsible for stopping, I don’t know. Regardless, it’s a compelling question for the vision as a whole: What parts of the vision, if any, could be glimpses of the future, and what does this bode for Rey in Episodes VIII and IX?
At the beginning of the vision when Rey first touches Anakin and Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, she finds herself in a corridor reminiscent of the one Luke walked through in Cloud City to face Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. That corridor could signal a return to Bespin, or it could simply be a part of the flashback portion of the vision (I lean toward the latter explanation).
Next, we see a vision of a man (presumably Luke) in a brown cloak and hood, kneeling on the ground in agony before an inferno. He places one metal hand on the dome of his faithful droid, R2-D2, as if R2 is the only thing he has left to cling to. While this scene could take place in the future, I speculate it occurs right after Luke discovers Kylo’s treachery, and the fire in front of him may be the funeral bonfire for the Jedi apprentices Kylo slaughtered. I can’t think of any event which would have Luke so distraught and despairing… except perhaps for the receiving of the word of one of his best friends’s death?
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Next, the scene changes to a rain-soaked field of bodies, with Kylo Ren and his Knights of Ren presiding over the carnage. This particular sequence could be a vision of the future, with the caveat Kylo has to rebuild his helmet from The Force Awakens exactly as it appeared in that film for Episode VIII and/or IX (you will recall, he left his helmet inside the thermal oscillator on Starkiller Base to chase after Rey and Finn, and the base was afterwards soon destroyed). Kylo killing a lot of people with the Knights of Ren is an act he could commit in any of or prior to the films, but the nature of the massacre might change depending on the timeline. Previously, I assumed the bodies in the field were those of the Jedi Ben murdered when he became Kylo Ren. If the scene takes place after the events of The Force Awakens, however, the discussion of who the bodies belong to changes. Are they Jedi Kylo missed in his initial rampage, innocent villagers, Resistance fighters? Also, is Kylo walking toward Rey in the vision because she will actually be there in that place and time, a lone survivor of his rage?
The one thing, aside from Kylo’s helmet being exactly reproduced from the original, which debunks this scene as being able to be from the future, is the fact it’s raining there as well as in Luke’s scene just prior. The two sequences appear to be connected, both by the rain and the fact Rey is still lying in the same place when Luke’s scene changes into Kylo’s killing field.
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The last two parts to Rey’s vision are easy to place in time. Rey being dropped off on Jakku obviously happened prior to The Force Awakens, while Rey in the dark, snow-covered woods is a promise of the impending battle between her and Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base. After the latter scene, Rey falls out of the vision and returns to reality in Maz’s Castle.
It doesn’t seem like there’s much in Rey’s vision from the future. However, there are lines of dialogue we could hear a return from, during Rey’s Jedi training, for instance. We hear Obi Wan Kenobi speak , and Yoda can be heard speaking for a split second. I keep hoping Episode VIII or IX will bring back Obi Wan in Force ghost form, and maybe Rey’s vision is telling us that return is imminent. It’s a small thread to grasp, but that’s what speculating is all about.
Next: Star Wars: Episode VIII - Rey's Parentage Possibly Revealed
What do you think of the possible implications Rey’s vision has for her future? Does it bode of more death, Jedi training by dead masters, or something else? Speculate with us in the comments, and thank Andrew for his thought-provoking opinion.