In The Rise of Skywalker, we saw Rey’s parents for the first time, glimpsed only briefly in a flashback appearance. It was revealed that her father was the son of Palpatine, who sent the Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon to hunt them down in order to bring the young Rey to him, seemingly necessary to the return of the Sith.
The Rise of Skywalker novelization, written by Rae Carson, expanded upon this a bit more, clarifying that Palpatine’s son was actually a clone. The Sith Eternal loyalists on Exegol worked to create a clone body for Palpatine that would be a suitable host for him, and though the efforts were mostly futile, there was one clone that survived – yet he was considered a “useless, powerless failure” who was cast off by Palpatine.
So this son went off and fell in love with a woman, and they had a child – a girl named Rey. They tried to live a quiet life on Jakku, but they wound up leaving Rey behind with Unkar Plutt when she was six years old in an effort to keep her safe. They were killed by Ochi, but they refused to reveal the location of their daughter, who remained safely hidden until she stumbled upon BB-8 over a decade later.
Now, three years after The Rise of Skywalker was released, sounds like we’re going to be getting more information about Rey’s parents in the upcoming novel Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher – and in an excerpt that was recently released, it’s revealed that her father is named Dathan, while her mother is named Miramir.
The names immediately reminded me of “Dathomir,” but that might just be because I’m not pronouncing it right. Adam Christopher took to Twitter to clarify how to pronounce the names, hinting that he may say a bit more at Celebration in a few days.
The full excerpt that was released focuses on Dathan, Miramir, and Rey as they flee Jakku in a junker of a ship, trying to escape. It elaborates, ever so slightly, on more about the two parents, and the excerpt ends as Rey points out something approaching, and Dathan and Miramir notice three ships in formation flying toward them.
Shadow of the Sith sounds like it’ll be one of the most significant and impactful novels of the entire new Star Wars canon, playing a pivotal role in establishing the context of the sequel trilogy. The book focuses on Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian as they search for Exegol, and now we know that it will also address Rey’s parents too. There’s a ton that this book can, and may, explore. This is one of the first major Luke stories in-between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens in the new canon. This will help us understand where Lando’s at when we meet him again in The Rise of Skywalker. This will explore the secrets of the Sith on Exegol, Palpatine’s mysterious return, and Luke’s growing awareness of this darkness. It will look at Ochi of Bestoon, and Rey’s parents. And, oh yeah, some moments between Luke and Anakin too!
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Star Wars book that truly felt this significant in tying in to the movies, particularly the sequel trilogy. The Aftermath novels were billed as such, but while certainly important in establishing context nonetheless wound up being different than expected. Stories about the main heroes in this time period have been especially scarce, with a novel like Claudia Gray’s Bloodline (one of my very favorite Star Wars books) being a rare exception. And stories about Luke in this period have been almost nonexistent. So from the moment this book was announced it’s jumped to one of my most anticipated Star Wars projects of the year, and it’s a story I’ve hoped would be told ever since The Rise of Skywalker was released.
With every excerpt, my excitement only continues to grow.
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