The arrival of the month of May is cause for celebration in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars gets to prove that it's not a franchise to be trifled with, with all sorts of events and releases in honor of Star Wars Day on May 4. The tie-ins can come in all shapes and sizes. However, one of the most popular is the annual crossover with Fortnite, the battle royale multiplayer video game that prides itself on adding popular IPs to its ever-growing arsenal.
For Star Wars Day 2026, Fortnite introduced several new game modes that give the Battlefront franchise a run for its money. There's also a new Din Djarin skin dropping in the game to coincide with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in theaters on May 22. With that in mind, it's no surprise that the titular bounty hunter was featured in Fortnite's marketing as often as the likes of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. But another character, one with a controversial past, continues to make the rounds: Rey.
Rather than making Luke Skywalker the main Jedi for the upcoming video game event, Rey is the first one out of the gate in Fortnite's announcement video. Of course, it could be argued that she's only getting the star treatment to draw in younger fans who are more familiar with her than with Luke or Anakin Skywalker. However, Fortnite has access to plenty of other sequel trilogy characters, and it's not rolling out the red carpet for any of them.
The reality of the situation is that Star Wars is screaming from the rooftops, via one of its biggest partners, that Rey is here to stay. And there's far more evidence than what Epic Games' biggest title has to offer.
Rey's Importance to the Star Wars Franchise Is No Secret
The fan reaction to the sequel trilogy was mixed, to say the least. People had trouble keeping up with what Lucasfilm was putting down, especially when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters and retconned many developments from the previous two movies. As a result, Rey got the short end of the stick, getting a solid character arc but one that felt like it still had meat on the bone.
Despite the negative discourse, the powers that be at Lucasfilm chose to push forward with Rey. She showed up at Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios, headlined a few books, and made cameos in animated projects, including the critically acclaimed LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past, where she got to embrace the dark side and become Darth Rey.
That's all well and good, but plenty of characters can claim to have a similar resume. Even Jar Jar Binks used a lightsaber in Pieces of the Past. What most residents of a galaxy far, far away can't claim is that they have a major solo project in the works. At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Daisy Ridley took the stage to announce her return in an untitled movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Unfortunately, the last few years haven't exactly been kind to the Rey solo movie. A few different writing teams have taken cracks at the script. And as of writing, the project isn't on Lucasfilm's release calendar, despite notable holes in the schedule.
A Star Wars project getting tossed into the Sarlacc usually means a slow and painful death. However, like Boba Fett, the Rey film can, too, crawl out of the darkness and rejoin the fight. By all accounts, all the parties involved are still on board; they're just waiting for the stars to align to jump into hyperspace.
In the meantime, Ridley and anyone else who holds Rey dear can hang their heads high, knowing that Star Wars isn't forgetting about the powerful Jedi who brought down Palpatine and his Final Order. In fact, the franchise continues to position her as one of its most important figures. That's not by accident, as it's clear that people in important positions believe that the years will be as kind to her as they have been to Anakin and other characters associated with the once-maligned prequel trilogy.
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