The Force Awakens Predictions That Were Right...and Wrong

If you're reading this, then you've probably already seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you haven't—what the heck are you doing? Turn back right now. Go home. Do not pass go. Click on the little 'x' in your browser and just go away. But if you're still here, let's dive into some of the fan theories that floated around the Internet and talk about which ones turned out to be on the money...and which ones were more wrong than that one time Leia kissed Luke. And of course, major spoilers ahead...

Anyone else having serious Return of the Jedi flashbacks? One of the first shots of Rey in The Force Awakens trailer shows her in a scavenger outfit pretty reminiscent of the bounty hunter costume Leia wears in Return of the Jedi. We knew going into this that there'd be an emphasis on the lineage of the original Star Wars cast and the new blood, and Rey's costume and mysterious origins seemed to confirm this. But when Han and Leia met Rey, none of them mentioned that she might be, you know, their secret, heretofore unmentioned daughter. Guess we can cross this one off the list.

If you haven't heard about the Walmart in Iowa that prematurely sold a Rey action figure, you've probably been living under a rock. Star Wars Action News podcast host Justin Kozisek was the (un)lucky fan to reveal this allegedly embargoed toy. According to iDigital Times, the action figure showed Rey in traditional resistance garb, holding a blue-bladed lightsaber. This is huge news, not only because Rey is the first woman to pick up a saber, but also because of the lightsaber's color. If Rey is holding a blue-bladed lightsaber it can only mean one thing—she inherited the blue saber color from Luke and Anakin. And indeed, by movie's end, we know that the Force is strong with that one, and that she's going to be studying the ways of the Light Side with Luke.

In the weeks leading up to the movie's release, Finn is seen in all the movie's promotional materials as holding a lightsaber—usually a pretty clear indication that a character is going to learn the ways of the Force. But we'd wondered all along if that was just a fakeout. After all, Han used Luke's lightsaber to cut open a tauntaun in Empire Strikes Back. Why couldn't Finn use the lightsaber without Force powers, too? Now we know for sure that pushing imagery of Finn with the lightsaber was just the ultimate troll on fans wondering who the next Jedi could be.

It's the breakup heard around the world, mentioned as a possible theory in nearly every Force Awakens article. According to a Star Wars spoiler board from Reddit, there's a theory that Han Solo and General Leia sent their children to Jedi training school to learn under Luke. A horrible tragedy sends the family in four different directions around the galaxy, and drives Luke into hiding, in true Obi-Wan and Yoda style. Fans speculated that this horrible tragedy was Kylo Ren going dark, and taking down the Jedi school. Han goes back to his smuggling days, searching the galaxy for the Millennium Falcon, and General Leia assumes her new title. And as it turned out, this is exactly what happened. Good job, Reddit board.

For months, fans wondered where the heck Luke was in the promotional materials leading up to the movie's premiere. And the theory that so many fans relied on to explain his absence? That Luke Skywalker was secretly Kylo Ren, the movie's main villain. Of course, it doesn't take long for the film to disabuse viewers of this patently wrong notion: Kylo Ren is really Ben Solo, Luke's nephew. Sorry nerds, but you were way off on this one.

This was a tough one, but here it is. According to Making Star Wars, Han Solo would be killed by his rumoured son, Kylo Ren, in The Force Awakens. When we first heard that theory, our hearts were broken at the thought of losing Captain Solo so soon after he comes back into our lives. But even though anyone watching the movie could see this coming a mile away, it was still terrible to watch Han's murder play out on the big screen. That said, director J.J. Abrams finally delivered on Harrison Ford's wish from way back in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi: that Han Solo be killed off, once and for all.

We wouldn't just leave you on that sad and depressing Han Solo note. To make all of our Star Wars fans feel a little better, BGR reported Mark Hamill's confirmation that Luke would be in Episode VIII. Which obviously meant he wouldn't die in Episode VII. Fortunately, that turned out to be the real deal. We only wish we'd had more time to spend with Luke before the credits rolled.

Okay, maybe not. Rumors and theories abounded that the franchise's most hated character, Jar Jar Binks, was secretly a Dark Side devotee and would appear as Supreme Leader Snoke in The Force Awakens. But that was all nonsense. In fact, Snoke-actor Andy Serkis confirmed before the movie's official release that he is not, in fact, Jar Jar Binks. But that doesn't mean it's a guarantee that the Gungan creep won't pull of his Snoke mask in Episode VIII! There's so much we don't know about Snoke, that we're not counting anything out.