When Rey debuted in The Force Awakens, countless theories popped up regarding who she might be related to. The newcomer showed an aptitude with The Force that previous characters took years to master, leading many to believe she could be related to someone like Luke. In the end she was a Palpatine by blood, but it turns out that a few alternate versions of her lineage were tossed around. One of which being none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi. As Daisy Ridley recently recounted in conversation with Josh Gad,
"At the beginning, there was toying with an Obi-Wan connection. There were different versions and then it really went to she was no one. And then it came to Episode IX and J.J. pitched me the film and was like, 'oh yeah, Palpatine's granddaddy,' and I was like 'awesome.' And then two weeks later he looked 'oh we're not sure.' So it kept changing."
Daisy Ridley's conversation with Josh Gad is interesting because it shows how there wasn't a concrete plan for the sequel trilogy. Each movie was seemingly approached as its own beast, with the writers and directors not following one narrative throughline. This is especially true for Rey's parents, as The Last Jedi claimed she was nobody, while The Rise of Skywalker retconned that to reveal she was actually a Palpatine by blood.
