Daisy Ridley Feels ‘Totally Satisfied’ with ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Ending, Resists ‘Star Wars’ Return
Zack Sharf
Daisy Ridley catapulted to international stardom thanks to her leading role as Rey in the most recent “Star Wars” trilogy. The three-film storyline ended in polarizing fashion last December with the release of J.J. Abrams’ “The Rise of Skywalker,” which earned some of the worst reviews ever for a “Star Wars” movie. Yet though critics were not kind to the movie, Ridley told IGN in a recent interview that “Rise of Skywalker” ended in such a perfect way that she can’t imagine herself returning as Rey in a future “Star Wars” project.
“I think for me the beauty of Episode IX is it ends with such hope and such potential,” Ridley said, referring to how her character adopts the Skywalker family name before heading off to parts unknown. “I just feel like that was Rey’s perfect ending. The big battle was in Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. I think really she’s probably running around the forest somewhere having a great time [following the events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’].”
Ridley continued, “I feel totally, totally satisfied with how that story finished. I just don’t know what else she could do that I didn’t have to do. Also, there are so many amazing characters in Star Wars, that it’s sort of an amazing thing. I was watching the new episode of ‘Mandalorian,’ and it’s just like the places it can go beyond even where it is now is so exciting.”
As backlash against “Rise of Skywalker” died down in the spring of 2020, Ridley admitted that it was “upsetting” to deal with all of the negative reactions to her trilogy-ending installment. The actress said in an interview that January 2020 was “not that nice” as it was the height of the backlash.
“It was weird, I felt like all of this love that we’d sort of been shown the first time around, I was like, ‘Where’s the love gone?’” Ridley said in April. “I watched the documentary, the making-of [‘The Skywalker Legacy’], this week, and it’s so filled with love, and I think it’s that tricky thing of when you’re part of something that is so filled with love and then people [don’t like it].”
“You know, everyone’s entitled to not like something, but it feels like it’s changed slightly,” she continued. “But I think in general that’s because social media and what have you…I guess now conversations are just more public, so there’s stuff I wouldn’t have seen, but honestly trying to scroll through my newsfeed in January and trying to not see ‘Star Wars’ stuff, I’d see headlines and be like ‘Oh my God this is so upsetting. So it’s been tricky.”
With “Star Wars” off her future radar for the time being, Ridley next moves on to a different science-fiction action vehicle: Doug Liman’s “Chaos Walking.” Ridley stars opposite Tom Holland in the long-delayed film, which will be released sometime in 2021.
