Chapter 928: Rey's Biological Mother

Everyone had their own theory. Although the film offered a few clues, the fans' debate over Rey's identity only grew more intense. The details Duke had planted in the movie were intentionally ambiguous, designed to spark controversy and discussion. Arguments generated buzz, and buzz fueled a massive, society-wide debate.

One user posted on Instant Sharing claiming that Rey was Obi-Wan's descendant. Even though they dropped the theory without any supporting evidence, detractors immediately flooded the replies with counterarguments.

"Rey is absolutely Luke Skywalker's daughter."

This user laid out their reasoning: "Rey is incredibly sensitive to the Force. She easily defeated Kylo Ren, who has been training for ages. Putting aside whether that makes sense or not, mastering those abilities without a teacher requires a ridiculously pure bloodline, right?"

As soon as that was posted, someone else retorted, "There's a huge problem with this theory. When did Luke ever find the time to give Rey a mother?"

The previous user fell momentarily silent, leaving the original creator of the Instant Sharing thread to finally type out their reasons for believing Rey was Obi-Wan's daughter.

"Since Rey's Force sensitivity has to be tied to a pure bloodline, and going by what we saw in Star Wars 7, she has already surpassed the Luke of the past. If Rey isn't Luke's descendant, who else has that strong of a connection to the Force? She might be the descendant of Obi-Wan, who guided Luke back in the day. Of course, all these theories eventually circle back to one question—'Who is the biological mother?' For such towering figures, carelessly claiming they accidentally fathered an illegitimate daughter would put a rather large dent in the glorious image of the Jedi Knights..."

And so, the topic shifted to who Rey's biological mother was, naturally derailing the entire thread.

In this day and age, it was an indisputable fact that massive online debates could profoundly influence the real world. The film's midnight screening box office was already incredibly high. By that logic, breaking the opening-day record wouldn't be an issue either. Duke had manufactured this topic and provoked countless arguments for one simple reason: to ensure the film maintained a stable and healthy box office trajectory.

The internet was awash with people guessing the identities of Rey's biological father and mother. Every time a new theory popped up, it easily racked up tens or even hundreds of thousands of views. Yet, among all this noise, something seemed to be missing.

Everyone assumed that Rey came from a prestigious lineage and possessed a pure Force bloodline; no one considered the alternative.

To further drive up the buzz, Duke's paid online shills released another theory via Instant Sharing.

"Rey isn't some legacy kid! She is a completely new and unknown character for a new story, a fresh face with no ties to the old cast. The Force is everywhere. Besides, Obi-Wan, Luke, and Han Solo aren't the only people in the galaxy who can have children. Just let Rey quietly be a beautiful girl with the Force!"

Many people couldn't help but hope that a future director's cut would hold the answers. However, Duke announced via official Twitter and Instant Sharing accounts that Star Wars: The Force Awakens would not be getting an extended edition. Those wanting to figure out who Rey really was would have to find the clues in the theatrical cut.

Fans who had not yet seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens were waiting in line, while those who had already watched it had their appetites whetted by the swirling theories. Unable to resist the itch, they returned to theaters once more. However, on Friday afternoon and evening, buying a ticket for an immediate screening was impossible; they had to settle for tickets for the following day.

Indeed, theaters across North America were practically bursting with fans. From Friday afternoon straight through to prime time, almost every screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was sold out. Many multiplexes hurriedly cleared out more auditoriums and screens to show the film, yet they still couldn't satisfy audience demand.

On Friday night, major North American theater chains like AMC and the Regal Entertainment Group repeatedly increased the number of screenings for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Within these mainstream commercial chains, Star Wars: The Force Awakens reached a screen share of nearly eighty percent, yet the crowds of fans waiting outside the theaters did not diminish in the slightest.

All of this resulted in a truly terrifying opening day box office figure.

"A New North American Single-Day Box Office Record Is Born!"

Early Saturday morning, countless people saw this striking headline across newspapers and the internet.

"This past Friday, all of North America was engulfed in Star Wars fever. On its opening day, the North American box office for Star Wars: The Force Awakens easily broke the $100 million mark. According to the latest statistics, the opening day gross came in around $165 million. Based on American media analysis, by the end of its opening weekend, the film will rake in at least $300 million domestically."

"This brand-new Star Wars movie directed by Duke Rosenberg has lived up to expectations. Judging from current momentum, it is bound to break various records: 1. The Avengers' opening weekend box office record of $243.31 million; 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2's midnight screening record of $49.5 million; 3. The Avengers' Friday opening day box office record of $100.66 million."

"In overseas territories, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has also left everything else in the dust. As of early this morning, the film had taken the top spot at the box office in 84 international markets, accumulating a stellar overseas gross of roughly $286 million and breaking opening day records in countries like Britain, Germany, and Australia. Many are already predicting that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will ultimately topple the $2.7 billion global box office record established by Avatar."

"On another front, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has received exceptionally high praise from North American audiences. The theatrical audience approval rating tallied by CinemaScore currently sits at ninety-six percent, and it was just selected by the AFI as one of the top ten films of 2015."

"However, the majority of presales for this Star Wars installment were concentrated on Thursday and Friday, meaning they were dominated by hardcore fans of the franchise and Duke Rosenberg. This has led numerous media outlets to wait and observe Saturday's performance. Saturday's drop-off rate will provide a direct metric for how much staying power the film will have over the rest of its run."

Just as the media pointed out, if the single-day box office for Star Wars: The Force Awakens plummeted after its opening—especially following Friday and Saturday, typically the hottest days for major commercial blockbusters—it would inevitably fall short of Duke and Lucasfilm's expectations.

That was exactly why they had manufactured so many talking points for their promotional campaign.

In this era, any commercially successful film was invariably the result of meticulous planning. If a studio assumed a movie would naturally achieve massive success just because it was anchored by a famous director, A-list stars, and a massive IP—without investing enough energy and capital into marketing—that film would inevitably fall far below initial expectations, and might even bomb catastrophically.

Warner Brothers and Lucasfilm's strategy was crystal clear: while maintaining the intensity of their marketing in other areas, they would further amplify the debate and hype surrounding Rey's identity.

On Saturday night, Saturday Night Live broadcast a pre-recorded Star Wars special.

No promotional campaign was ever born on a whim; they were always the result of careful planning and rigorous execution. The engineered debate over Rey's identity was no exception. Long before the movie premiered, Lucasfilm had arranged this special with Saturday Night Live and invited many people closely associated with Duke to participate in the recording.

The guest lineup was enough to make any film crew die of envy: Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron, Sofia Coppola, and industry outsider Aerin Lauder...

They discussed only one topic on the program—who exactly was Rey?

"The beautiful, clever, and incredibly powerful female lead in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is truly captivating, and her mysterious background is drawing just as much attention."

On a set designed to look like a cafe, Leonardo leaned back on a sofa.

Taking the lead, he said, "There are currently several popular theories. Rey is Luke Skywalker's descendant, Rey is Han Solo's descendant, Rey is Obi-Wan's descendant... But all of these answers can't avoid one question: Who is Rey's biological mother?"

After he finished speaking, he looked toward Charlize Theron. Out of everyone here, only she had participated in the film's production.

Charlize Theron shrugged. "I don't know who she is either. I asked, but Duke refused to tell me. He only said that Rey's biological mother definitely isn't the character I play."

Since they were already speculating wildly, Leonardo and the others encouraged the audience to push the theories even further.

"Let's get some fresh coffee..."

An extra playing the cafe waiter brought fresh coffee to the group gathered around the table.

Leonardo spoke again, "Now, everyone, please pick up your coffee cups, and let's play a little game of deduction together."

Charlize Theron, Aerin Lauder, and Sofia Coppola each picked up their coffee cups and took a sip.

Leonardo swirled his coffee cup and continued, "Here are the currently known clues: Rey is an orphan; Rey has an extremely high aptitude for machinery and is highly skilled at flying; Rey lives alone on Jakku and seems to be waiting for someone; Rey's sensitivity to the Force is extremely high, and even without formal training, she was able to easily strike down Kylo Ren, who hails from the Skywalker Family and has been training since childhood; Rey can hear the call of Anakin's Lightsaber; and through Kylo Ren's invasion of Rey's mind, we know she often dreams of an ocean and an island in the sea."

"There are also the scenes that appeared in Rey's vision."

Setting down her coffee cup, Sofia Coppola added, "In the vision of Cloud City, Rey saw the final duel between Luke and Darth Vader. Then she saw Luke placing his hand on R2D2 amid a field of ruins, Kylo Ren going on a killing spree at the Jedi School, and next, a five- or six-year-old Rey dressed in a Jedi youngling's outfit being abandoned on Jakku. What's interesting is that Obi-Wan's voice in this segment comes from both actors who played him."

"All right, those are the clues we know so far." Leonardo looked at the other three. "Tell me your thoughts."