The Star Wars sequel trilogy’s protagonist, Rey, is a plucky young scavenger when we first meet her in 2015’s Episode VII: The Force Awakens. So, just how old is Rey in The Force Awakens, exactly?
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Rey’s Age in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Explained
Rey is 19 in Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Don’t go looking to the movie itself for this information, though. Co-writer/director J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt followed Star Wars creator George Lucas’ lead by keeping the exact age of The Force Awakens‘ lead vague throughout its 136-minute runtime.
So, to find out how old Rey is, we have to turn to 2023 reference text Star Wars: Timelines. This tome confirms that Rey was born in 15 ABY – or 15 years after Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope. It also places the events of The Force Awakens in 34 ABY. As such, all we need to do to calculate Rey’s age is subtract 15 from 34.
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Typically for most Hollywood productions, Rey actor Daisy Ridley was actually slightly older than 19 when she filmed The Force Awakens. Principal photography on the movie ran from May to November 2014, when Ridley was 22. What’s more, the age discrepancy between Ridley and Rey became more pronounced with each installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
By the time Ridley reprised the role in 2019’s Star Wars – Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, she was 26 – over half a decade older than Rey’s canonical age in the movie. What about Cailey Fleming, who plays the six-year-old Rey in The Force Awakens‘ flashbacks? Here, the age gap is far less pronounced. Fleming was seven when she portrayed Rey’s younger self, so nearly the right age.
How Old is Rey in Other Star Wars Media?
That’s Rey’s age in The Force Awakens covered – what about other Star Wars movies and TV shows? Here’s a guide to Rey’s age across all her canonical big and small screen appearances:
- Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens – 19
- Star Wars – Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – 19
- Star Wars – Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker – 20
- New Jedi Order – 35
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A few notes on the above age listings. First, Rey doesn’t age between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi because they’re both set in 34 ABY. Heck, the former pretty much picks up where the latter leaves off, so Rey ages (at most) a few minutes. Second, “New Jedi Order” isn’t an official title; it’s the name popularly used for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s upcoming Rey-centric movie. While Lucasfilm hasn’t revealed the project’s title, the studio has confirmed it takes place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, making Rey’s age in the flick easy to work out.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is currently streaming on Disney+, as part of the platform’s Star Wars collection.
Published: Jun 3, 2024 08:28 am