'Star Wars: Episode 8' spoilers: New theory about Rey's origin emerges

Since "Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens" was released, fans have been wondering about Rey (Daisy Ridley), its mysterious protagonist. Specifically, fans have wanted to know where the character comes from and who her parents are.

Numerous fan theories have attempted to answer these questions, with some suggesting that Rey could be the daughter of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) or Han Solo (Harrison Ford). There are others speculating that Rey is the daughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor).

With the upcoming release of the "Star Wars" spinoff "Rogue One," some fans have suggested that Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the film's protagonist, could be Rey's mother. However, Ridley herself has shut down this theory, saying that the timelines don't match and that if the two were related, Rey would have to be Jyn's granddaughter.

Though Rey may not be a descendant of any of these people, a new theory suggests that "Star Wars: Episode 8" may reveal that the courageous young woman is actually a princess.

In a post on Reddit, user The_Playboy writes: "I think Rey is from a royal family, from a planet unknown to the audience. The First Order invaded Rey's homeworld, and wiped them out. Maybe a group of loyal guards escaped with the young Rey, and left her on Jakku for her own safety."

The Redditor said that royalties have always played key roles in the "Star Wars" universe and that royal families were mentioned a number of times in "Episode 7." For instance, near the beginning of the film, Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) said that while Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is now General Leia, to him she will always be royalty. When Han first appeared in the film, he was in the process of transporting dangerous rathtars to a certain King Prana.

Other Reddit users have lent credence to this theory and have pointed out that "rey" means "king" in Spanish.

Meanwhile, YouTuber Mike Zeroh reports that some Luke Skywalker dialogues from "Episode 8" have leaked and that these include the line "You contain the spark that will rekindle the fire."

According to the YouTuber, this line is something Luke tells Rey on Ahch-To when he is training her to become a Jedi.

"Star Wars: Episode 8" drops Dec. 15, 2017.