Who opened the door in Maz's castle?

Question

In The Force Awakens there is a pivotal scene where Rey grasps Luke Skywalker's lightsaber. Once she touches it, she is propelled into a force-dream (I think that is the Awakening of the title).

In order to get to the lightsaber, Rey walks through a door that was opened for her. This question may be entirely speculation, and if so it wouldn't bother me one bit to see it closed. But, I am hopeful that there are hints in the novelization or other canon sources.

As I see it, there are five possibilities:

1. The door opened automatically because somebody was there, like at the grocery store.
2. The saber itself opened it.
3. Rey opened it.
4. Maz opened it.
5. The Force opened it.

What say you? There are consequences to answers two through five. Personally, I find option one fairly ridiculous since Maz says that she has had Luke's lightsaber locked away. The box that held the saber was clearly not locked.

Answer 1

It's mentioned briefly in the film's novelisations;

There was a seal, a lock, on the door. She reached out, only to draw back her hand when it opened before she could make contact. - _{^{Official Novelisation}}

and

The corridor led to a sealed door. Before she touched the lock, the door opened. - _{^{Junior Novelisation}}

But that's it. Nothing further is offered and the scene doesn't even appear in The Force Awakens: Rey's Story.

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Speculation time

• Since we know that Maz is a Force-sensitive (in a deleted scene she's shown using the Force), it's certainly possible that the lock is able to be opened only by a light-aligned force-user, in much the same way that a Jedi holocron works.

• Luke opened it

• Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon/Yoda/Anakin opened it.

• Maz opened it (using a remote control or the Force)

Answer 2

Even if we don't take the novelizations into account it was pretty clear from the mood and also the sounds at that time that it was the force that guided her there and thus also the force that oppened the door.

There was nobody there and Maz seemed quite surprised when she found her there later. And in addition to that Rey was almost in trance there following sounds only she could hear because of the force.

Personally I found it strange in retrospect with the canon that a lightsaber calls to someone (although the crystal inside is imbued with the force so that COULD be an explanatin there or the saber becoming a verge itself), but that aside it was pretty clear that the scene itself was about the force. Although we never before in canon saw anything where machines just reacted because of the forces will. This would be the first time (the opening door) that I can remember.

Luke I would rule out else he would have guessed her coming and wouldn't have looked that surprised. Also Maz seemed surprised at her being there so I would also rule that out. A subconscious force usage of Rey would be possible but that would then fall under "the will of the force" thing for the door to open.

Answer 3

Good question. IMO it was Luke.

Firstly, it may be that the door automatically opens to everyone but why would Maz keep such an artifact behind an unlocked door in the middle of a crowded bar? Furthermore, we know it's probably a bit of a dangerous bar since Han says "don't stare" (also it blows up after 15 minutes). Dangerous bars naturally tend to have locked doors to keep the thieves out. Therefore on the balance of probabilities it was a locked door that somehow magically unlocked. Let's now consider some points:

A) In the bar, Rey hears a voice - it's probably herself as a child crying out as she is abandoned on Jakku. This is why she goes down the stairs.

B) After the vision, Maz says "That lightsaber was Luke's. And his father's before him. And now, it calls to you....I am no Jedi, but I know the Force."

C) So at this point in the movie there are powerful Force events taking place: 1) The lightsaber "calling" to Rey; 2) She has a major hallucination that freaks her the F out. Therefore, probably the door opening is part of all this crazy Force stuff that's going on.

All of this would make it a great candidate for the meaning of the title The Force Awakens EXCEPT Snoke says "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" 14 mins before she has the vision.

So if Rey's vision is not the awakening, then what is the title actually referring to? There must be something Force-related that we cannot see. Maybe it guides some of the characters. Maybe it guides Rey to Luke. Maybe this is why the door opens.

In the first 3 movies Palpatine has this huge scheme going on in the background which eventually sees him become the Emperor with a huge army of stormtroopers. During this scheme, a child (Anakin) randomly flies inside a droid control ship and accidentally blows it up. Due to the sheer number of coincidences involved, it seems very likely that he was being guided by the Force. Maybe he was being guided by Palpatine?

Perhaps, Luke has a scheme of his own going on in the background of this trilogy? I feel it's important to ask why does Luke touch R2 in Rey's vision? Is this just a friendly stroke in front of the campfire that has nothing to do with Rey? IMO no. R2 only wakes up when Rey turns up. It seems likely that Luke programmed R2 to do this and possibly that touch is part of this process - i.e. it's all part of Luke playing the long game over many years - he touched R2 probably when Rey was still a child (the vision is probably in chronological order e.g. the first scene is on Bespin and the touch occurs before we see Rey as a child, with Kylo in the snow in the future in the last scene in the vision). This grand long-term plan of Luke's is why the door opened in my opinion. He used the Force. He wants Rey to reach the island. Kylo says Rey herself has been dreaming of the island. Luke's plan involves Rey partly because she is related to Luke. In one of the trailers he says "The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too."