The Rise of Skywalker title mystery may have been solved back in 2015's The Force Awakens. There has been a lot of speculation over the official Star Wars 9 title since it was released last week and many fans are trying to figure out what it means. There have actually been quite a few intriguing theories floating around as to who or what The Rise of Skywalker is referring to and one of them isn't what you would expect.

Going back to The Force Awakens, Supreme Leader Snoke warns Kylo Ren and General Hux that their plans could be derailed by the Resistance. He says, "The droid (BB-8) will soon be delivered to the Resistance, leading them to the last Jedi," which also name checks The Last Jedi title at the same time. Here's where it gets interesting though. Snoke continues, "If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will Rise." Since Luke is the last Jedi, this theory would mean that Rey is the Skywalker referred to in the latest movie's title, which many people have thought over the past few years. However, it might not be what you're thinking.

Rey could be the secret Skywalker in The Rise of Skywalker title, but there may be more to it than that. Star Wars fans who are familiar with Timothy Zahn's 2018 novel Thrawn: Alliances may already have a bit more backstory on the title than casual fans. In the book, it reveals a bit more information on what makes a Skywalker. The book reveals how the Chiss Ascendancy uses Force-sensitive kids to navigate through the Unknown Regions. The book also says these Force-sensitive children tend to have their powers dull with age. In a conversation with Darth Vader, Thrawn sheds more light on the Skywalkers. He explains.

"I told you the Chiss call this talent Third Sight. What I hadn't yet spoken of is the title these navigators are given once they take their posts... The Cheunh word is ozyly-esehembo. In Basic, it translates to 'sky-walker.' You can imagine my momentary confusion when I first encountered General Anakin Skywalker."

The Thrawn: Alliances novel, which is official Star Wars canon, reveals Skywalker is a name given to those who are Force-sensitive. This would mean Rey and a bunch of other "Skywalkers," like Force-sensitive broom boy from The Last Jedi could be getting ready to fight in The Rise of Skywalker. These two theories put together actually make a lot of sense, but it isn't clear if J.J. Abrams is going to go down this route.

Giving away a title like The Rise of Skywalker was always going to lead to a bunch of theories and rumors from Star Wars fans. But when looking back at the official canon, the answer may have been under our nose the entire time with a little bit of research. With that being said, this is just speculation at this point. Lucasfilm and Disney like to change things up a bit on the big screen, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Reddit was the first to talk about The Force Awakens connection to The Rise of Skywalker.