I would ordinarily agree with you Burbin - your idea makes the most sense in terms of storytelling, but we are working with extremely limited material in this movie. Which is why I’m leaning toward opposing anything that doesn’t have Rey related to Palpatine in some way. Anything else would simply have to cut too much out of the movie for my liking. Plus, I’m concerned about how the upcoming Rey movie will handle this issue. I think the idea we’ve come up with here is a solid middle ground between Rey’s parents being nobody and her still being a Palpatine. Because in no world is the “son” of the Emperor ever nobody. It also makes Palpatine’s return make 1000x more sense than what we currently have in Ascendant. Here’s where I’m at rn:
“Rey….wherever you are…You are hard to find.
“You are hard to get rid of.”
“I pushed you in the desert because I needed to see it…I needed you to see it…who you are. Darkness is in your blood. Rey…”
“You’re lying.”
“You were right…your parents were no one. Vulnerable to the alluring promises of a Sith cult.”
“Don’t!”
“The woman you called mother…she was merely the host…”
“I don’t want this!”
“…for birthing a dark experiment.”
“No!”
“But she loved you nonetheless.”
(Rey sees the vision of her parents and her abandonment.)
“My Love…be brave.”
“You’ll be safe here…I promise.”
“Come back! Nooo!”
“They paid for your protection…in more than one way.”
“Stop talking.”
“Rey…I learned what happened to them.”
(Cutaway to heroes capture)
“They sought sanctuary on Jakku, chasing rumors of a congregation dedicated to Skywalker’s Jedi. But your parents couldn’t escape the long shadow of the Sith.”
(Rey sees her parents get killed.)
“So that’s where you are.”
“You know why the Emperor wanted you dead. I’ll come tell you.”
…
“Why did the Emperor come for me? Why did he want to kill a child? Tell me.”
“Because his spirit chose another vessel, rendering the hundreds created by his followers as threats to his rule. Rey, you… are his clone.”
“You were created to sit upon the throne of the Sith, a vessel for the Emperor’s conjured spirit. But what he couldn’t foresee was our connection in the Force. We can kill him, Rey, destroy the Sith…and bring a new order to the galaxy.”
(Removes his helmet)
“You know what you need to do. You know.”
“I know.”