As she prepares to make her return as Rey Skywalker in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy‘s untitled Star Wars project, Daisy Ridley details the challenge of reprising her star-making role as an experienced Jedi Master.
In an interview with Empire, Ridley recalled the moment when Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy called her about returning to the Star Wars franchise. “It wasn’t a difficult decision,” Ridley said. “I didn’t say yes right away, Kathy [Kennedy, Lucasfilm president] was like, ‘Take as long as you need.’ It was actually really funny, on the way there [to meet Kennedy], I was on the phone to my best friend and he goes, ‘Oh my God, Dais, imagine if they’re doing a Rey TV show.’ And I was like, ‘Nah, we’re literally just going for breakfast.’ And then I called him and I was like, ‘You will never guess what.'”
Ridley originated Rey in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens and would headline the sequel trilogy installments The Last Jedi in 2017 and The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. While each movie grossed over $1 billion worldwide, fan reaction to the sequel trilogy has been polarizing. Some of the criticism has been directed towards the depiction of Ridley’s Rey as a flawless protagonist. The character’s potential growth, however, is what drew Ridley back to the franchise.
“Why wouldn’t I [do it]?” Ridley continued. “Yes, they have been divisive, but also they bring a lot of love and joy to a lot of people. It feels pretty amazing to be able to continue a character – like, can I even remember how to play her? It’s an interesting challenge as an actor to come back to something and try to figure out what’s changed for me and what’s changed for her.”
“Coming in a bit more eyes wide open, I suppose I feel more like I’m owning it. I suppose I owned it the first time. Basically, I’m an adult now. I certainly did not feel like an adult at the time. Obviously, personally, things have changed, and professionally, I’ve had lots of other experiences, and so I definitely feel like it’s a different thing this time. There’s just a lot of joy with me and these films. Honestly, if I wasn’t excited, I wouldn’t have done it. It feels like a great thing to be part of.”
What is the Rey Skywalker movie about?
Announced by Lucasfilm at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, the untitled Rey movie will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) with a screenplay by Steven Knight based on an earlier draft by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson. While the secret premise involves Rey as a Jedi Master 15 years after Rise of Skywalker, Ridley confirms that she only knows the story beats as the script remains a work in progress. “I’m not sure what it’s going to be,” Ridley said. “But I’m reading a script next month. I’m curious about it all.”
The untitled Rey Skywalker movie does not have a release date.
