“No, there is another. “- Yoda

The Force ebbs and flows, as do all living things. It has ups and downs, but eventually it finds balance. It will lose it again, of course, to find it again. Such is life, and such is the Force. Such is the story of Star Wars.

In 1980, when Yoda first spoke these words, people wondered who the other was; eventually all eyes turned towards Leia. It has become a generally accepted idea that Leia is the other, that if Luke had failed on the second Death Star Leia would have been the hope of the galaxy. But what if we were all wrong? What if…

Rey. Rey is the other.

Now, I have no spoilers, no connections from Lucasfilm divulging information. I’m purely speculating based on the information we have from the seven saga films and things officially released by Lucasfilm.

First, let’s look at Rey as a character. Her upbringing mimics that of both Anakin and Luke. Lost, emotionally at least, on a desert planet. Hoping for more, but more than anything hoping to find a place to belong.

When Rey does start her hero’s journey, it starts with Luke, just as Luke’s adventure starts with Anakin before him. Maz Kanata puts it bluntly, “The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.” To which Rey responds, “Luke.”

When Rey is able to call the lightsaber to her, we see the realization of Maz’s instruction. Just as Luke was the other for Anakin, Rey is the other for Luke. Skywalker or not, the lightsaber of the chosen ones has now chosen her.

On top of that, Leia, the one who we assumed to be the other, sends Rey to go find her brother. If the Force had wanted Leia to take up the mantel of balancing the Force, would it not have guided her to Luke? But instead, the lost scavenger is finding her belonging in becoming the one the galaxy needs. Just like the lost slave boy and lost farm boy before here.

Out of universe, there is a lot of evidence pointing this to be true.

In creating a distinction between the saga and “Star Wars story” films, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has said that the saga films will be the Skywalker story. Since 1980, that story has included there being another. If Luke failed, the Force would provide someone else to right the sails. Antagonists will say that the other is Ben Solo, who may be taking the same path to saving the galaxy that his grandfather did; however, the evidence points elsewhere.

Moreover, there is the title of Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. While in English this could be singular or plural, other languages point to it being plural. Which means that there is another last Jedi, an other other than Luke.

I’ve speculated before that the story of TLJ will be of the singular last Jedi becoming the plural last Jedi. If this were to come to fruition, it could show us why the chosen ones prior to Rey, Luke and Anakin, failed. The galaxy did not need a singular “other,” but rather a plural.

Of course all of this is just speculation until December 15.

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