Does Rey have what it takes to be a better Jedi than Luke Skywalker? Let’s take a look at what the last Star Wars film might reveal.
On the Reddit Star Wars Leaks subreddit, someone posted an interesting tweet by John Boyega (now since removed) that read like he was comparing Rey to Anakin and Luke and found her lacking.
This particular post got to me straight away because it’s a very interesting debate to compare Luke, Anakin and Rey. Even with the new movie just around the corner, I still don’t think Rey has what it takes to be a better Jedi than Luke Skywalker, irrespective of what the last film might reveal.
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Rey’s history, in comparison with both Luke and Anakin’s, doesn’t really give us a lot to think about when we think of her becoming The Last Jedi. Current spoilers and leaks aside, we know very little about her upbringing other than she was abandoned and left to her own devices at an early age. She wasn’t trained on how to use the force or how to be a Jedi and knew nothing about the galactic conflict going on around her.
I’m still trying to figure out how she managed to become a pilot capable of flying the Millenium Falcon!
Luke, on the other hand, had a slightly better childhood, although he also experienced tragedy when he found his aunt and uncle’s charred remains after coming face-to-face with The Empire. This tragic event in Luke’s life became the catalyst that drove him to become a Jedi.
We already know that Luke had the natural skill as a pilot and was already planning on training to become one. Luke, like Rey, didn’t know anything about the force, but unlike Rey, he was close to Obi-Wan Kenobi and then finally Yoda who were both Jedi masters. It is, therefore, entirely understandable how he became one of the strongest Jedi’s ever to exist.
And last but not least, Anakin Skywalker — the reason for the entire Skywalker saga. Not only was Anakin one of the most gifted Jedi, but he was also The Chosen One — the one who was supposed to bring balance to the force.
We know all about Anakin’s legacy, having experienced it with the prequel trilogy of films. We know he went on to become one of the strongest Sith lords in the history of the Sith. So how can Rey possibly be better than these two iconic characters?
Anakin turning to the dark side was exposing his character’s weakness. Rey has not yet succumbed to the dark side herself. We’ve seen her exposed to it and how easily she was willing to explore the dark side of herself on Ach-To, but she didn’t give in — not even when she was tempted by the Skywalker version of the Dark Prince, Kylo Ren himself.
That was admirable for sure. Luke may have been whittled right down from the Rancor-killing hero of the original trilogy to a hermit in The Last Jedi, but he was still a much more skilled and grounded Jedi in his prime than Rey has been so far in hers.
Maybe we’ll get to see more of Rey’s background in the new movie — something I am genuinely excited to see. I’d love to have a reason to be wrong about Rey. But so far, she does not really measure up, at least not to Luke.
Bring on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — maybe Rey still has the capacity to be a better Jedi than both Anakin and Luke. This along with many other questions about Rey will be finally answered on December 19.