Morgan Fromentin unpacks why Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, takes the Skywalker surname at the saga’s end. Citing a Star Wars tie-in book and earlier Lucasfilm notes from Pablo Hidalgo, the piece frames the choice as honoring Luke’s legacy over lineage, a debate sharpened by J.J. Abrams’ film.
Rey didn’t inherit a dynasty; she chose one. A new book by Marc Sumerak surfaces her own words on why the scavenger from Jakku claimed Skywalker at the saga’s sunset, tying the choice to Luke’s example and the fight against Palpatine. It reframes the name as mentorship and mission rather than midichlorians, echoing ideas Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo flagged years earlier. With debates still simmering after J.J. Abrams’ finale, this lens recasts Rey’s surname as a pledge to the Jedi’s spirit and to hope.
The symbolic weight of Rey’s choice
Rey’s closing moment on Tatooine, choosing to call herself Skywalker, still lingers. The gesture is small, the meaning vast. It ties her journey to the thread that began with Luke, a farm kid who changed the galaxy. Indeed, by taking that name, Rey stakes a claim to a legacy of resilience, hope, and service, not a birthright she never had.
From Jakku scavenger to Skywalker
Rey starts as a scavenger craving belonging, then learns to define herself. According to Marc Sumerak’s tie-in book, Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi: The Chronicles of Luke Skywalker, Rey frames her choice as growth, not disguise. She writes that continuing the fight against Palpatine meant honoring her teacher’s sacrifice. In that spirit, Daisy Ridley’s character steps beyond origin into intention.
Legacy over lineage
The Skywalker name, as Rey adopts it, signals values over blood. She rejects the Palpatine line and embraces the ideal Luke modeled: courage tied to responsibility. This is the case when she says Luke might be gone, yet he lives on through the Jedi she channels. The choice clarifies the sequel trilogy’s stance that family can be chosen, and duty accepted.
Reimagining Star Wars symbolism
The idea predates the finale’s debates. Insight from Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group points back to early discussions, where “Skywalker” was treated as metaphor as much as surname. That lens reshapes the saga’s themes, centering spiritual kinship and personal agency over genetics. Director J.J. Abrams’ film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019 made that subtext literal, asking us to view legacy as a living choice.
A polarizing yet purposeful decision
Rey has drawn fire for her swift skills, with some labeling her a Mary Sue. The name she claims answers that critique not with power, but with purpose. In addition to skill, she chooses accountability, compassion, and a future that refuses cynicism. If a name can be a promise, why shouldn’t Skywalker now mean the promise to keep hope working?