Star Wars: Why it’s hard to buy into Rey actually falling to the Dark Side

Star Wars fans were stunned after they saw a shot of Rey in a black cloak wielding a red light saber, but let’s pump the brakes for a second.

Warning: This piece is all speculation, but could include potential spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Following the conclusion of D23, Star Wars released a sizzle reel, which showed clips from the Original Trilogy as well as the Prequel Trilogy, and followed with some new footage from The Rise of Skywalker.

More from Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

There was a lot to be taken away from this teaser, and it certainly should get fans excited for Episode IX, which will be the final installment of the Skywalker Saga. The shot that stands out the most is Rey in a dark cloak, wielding a two-sided red light saber.

After seeing this footage, there was a lot to digest. Of course, there will be tons of theories leading up to Episode IX’s release. Maybe Rey is a clone, or maybe the shots of her are just simply a vision. Either way, there’s a much simpler reason as to why Rey falling to the Dark Side seems unlikely.

If Dark Rey were to actually occur, why would Star Wars reveal that in a small teaser? That is way too big of a reveal for a trailer. Rey falling to the Dark Side would be a shocker, and if it were to happen, would be better suited as an unexpected development during the movie.

But, with this shot of Dark Rey in the sizzle reel, if she does end up falling to the Dark Side in The Rise of Skywalker, this would be a massive plot twist in the film, and the reveal would not be as surprising given that it was already shown in the teaser.

At the same time, one may argue that Star Wars teasing the return of Emperor Palpatine in the trailer was a massive reveal that perhaps would have been better to disclose for the first time in the film itself. After all, when characters return in Star Wars films unexpectedly, it’s usually seen for the first time in the movie itself (Example: Darth Maul in Solo: A Star Wars Story).

However, the return of Palpatine was a clever reveal by Star Wars to get fans excited for The Rise of Skywalker. Plus, fans still have plenty of questions as to what his role will be in the film. All we know is he will be in Episode IX in some capacity.

So, by having this sizzle reel show Rey with a red light saber and a dark cloak leads to the conclusion that it’s likely some sort of tease to make fans question if she will actually fall to the Dark Side. But, the fact that this teaser shows Dark Rey makes it seem likely that she will not fall to the Dark Side.

Of course, only time will tell, and we will get our answer in December.

Let me know in the comments below if you think Rey will fall to the Dark Side.