Actress Daisy Ridley rose to fame after she portrayed the character of Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. She appeared in 2015’s The Force Awakens, 2017’s The Last Jedi, and 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. The audience as well as the critics appreciated the actress for her performance in the trilogy.
Ridley, apart from starring in Star Wars appeared in movies including Murder on the Orient Express, Ophelia, Peter Rabbit, and more. The English actress is now looking forward to making her return to the Star Wars franchise and portraying Rey once again on-screen in an untitled movie. She recently talked about the one thing that surprised her upon her return.
Daisy Ridley talks about her return to the Star Wars franchise as Rey
Actress Daisy Ridley appeared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused Podcast to promote her movie Sometimes I Think About Dying where she addressed her return to one of the most popular and successful franchises Star Wars as Rey. The host asked her if she ever thought of returning to playing Rey in the movies to which the actress agreed. Ridley claimed that she did think that sometime in the future she’d pop in to say hi, before leaving again.
Daisy Ridley added that the timeline was a surprise to her. The untitled movie is said to be set fifteen years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. She was also asked if she had heard the rumors about Helen Mirren playing the older version of Rey in the movie. Ridley said,
“I heard the rumor about the older but I didn’t know it was Helen Mirren.”
She continued when asked if she was going to share the role with Mirren; she said,
“I’ll take a Dame.”
It was reported back in May of 2023 that Damon Lindelof was eyeing to have Helen Mirren play the older version of Rey in the now-scrapped Star Wars movie. Industry insider Jeff Sneider according to CBR, shared at the time,
“What I heard was…it was supposed to be an older Rey training two Jedi, right? A man and a woman, who I think both would’ve been of color. Now, they didn’t go out to this actress, this was not offered but she was the comp, she was the person when they put together the casting list it’s like, ‘Oh, ideally this is who we went’—it doesn’t necessarily mean that the prototype person is that person.”
Snieder noted that Helen Mirren was being considered for playing the older version of Rey. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy later replaced Damon Lindelof as the director of the untitled movie and Daisy Ridley was announced to make a return to the franchise as Rey.
Daisy Ridley reacts to the backlash for The Rise of Skywalker
The actress who last appeared as Rey in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker addressed the backlash the movie received at the time. During her conversation with Josh Horowitz, the actress said,
“I think it’s still upsetting because you don’t want people to feel like you’ve not served the thing they’re a fan of. But The Last Jedi was so divisive, so it really felt like the first one was fairly…everyone was responsive in a similar way. And then Rian’s one, super divisive, and then the last one, super divisive. It didn’t change how I felt about it.”
The English actress who is now looking forward to reprising her role as Rey noted that she has noticed the increase in the interest of the public in knowing if she would return to the franchise or not. She lastly mentioned that in the last six to eight months, the way she had been greeted by people was very different from the time before that.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is streaming on Disney+.
Frequently asked questions
What Star Wars secret did Daisy Ridley learn during an interview?
On the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Ridley learned that Helen Mirren had been considered to portray an older version of Rey in an untitled upcoming Star Wars film set fifteen years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, the prior trilogy closer.
What did Daisy Ridley mean by I’ll take a Dame?
When asked if she would share the role with Mirren, Ridley enthusiastically replied she would take a Dame, referencing Mirren’s title as a Dame, a British honor, to express genuine approval of the casting idea being floated for the project at the time.
Who is directing the new Rey-focused Star Wars film?
The untitled film will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who replaced original director Damon Lindelof. Ridley also noted growing fan excitement about her return, saying she had noticed warmer greetings from fans in recent months leading up to the news.
