Warning! MAJOR SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ahead.
In the identity of Rey's parents has been kept a secret, leading to nearly endless speculation and theories about who they might be. The Rise of Skywalker finally provides an answer, and as with most big revelations in the Star Wars franchise, it's sure to be controversial.
The Rise of Skywalker is the culmination of a nine-film saga that all began in 1977 with the original Star Wars. Returning to bring the massively popular series to a close is The return of the Emperor is perhaps the biggest mystery leading into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but it's the reveal that the Emperor still lives that finally leads to answers about Rey's parents.
In The Rise of Skywalker, it is revealed that Rey is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine and that her father is Palpatine's son. Little is actually known about Palpatine's life before he became the Senator from Naboo, but The Rise of Skywalker introduces the idea of him at one point settling down and having a family. Via new information from Kylo Ren and Rey's own visions, it's revealed that Palpatine feared Rey's power and tried to have her killed when she was just a child. Rey's parents flee to protect her, but Palpatine sends an assassin after them who eventually captures and kills her parents. However, not before they safely hide their daughter away on Jakku. This shocking reveal about the identity of Rey's parents is accompanied by a flashback to the moment of them leaving Rey on Jakku and their deaths at the assassin's hands, and it's in these scenes that Jodie Comer and Billy Howle portray Rey's parents.
Jodie Comer Plays Rey's Mother
Jodie Comer plays Rey's mother and daughter-in-law of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She is an actress best known for playing Villanelle on Free Guy.
Billy Howle Plays Rey's Father
Billy Howle plays Rey's father and Palpatine's son in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. He is an actor who is likely best known to audiences for his role as Edward, the Prince of Wales in Netflix's Dunkirk. Howle's most recent role (besides The Rise of Skywalker) came in the TV drama, MotherFatherSon, in where he plays the son of a divorced couple portrayed by Richard Gere and Helen McCrory.
