Daisy Ridley Reflects on the Divisive Fan Response to STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
A lot of Star Wars fans feel that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was a very disappointing end to the sequel trilogy. Daisy Ridley, who played the central character Rey, recently shared her thoughts on the film's polarizing reception during an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. She opened up about the mixed reactions from fans and critics that have continued to stir conversations since the film's 2019 release.
Ridley confessed: "It's still upsetting. You don't want people to feel like you've not served the thing that they're a fan of." Her sentiment reflects the challenges faced by actors in iconic franchises, where fan expectations often run high and reactions can be intensely personal.
Ridley also acknowledged the divisive nature of the sequel trilogy as a whole, particularly highlighting the reception of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi: "Rian's one was so divisive. 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." This trilogy has indeed sparked a spectrum of opinions among the Star Wars fanbase, with each installment bringing its own set of debates.
Despite the mixed reception of The Rise of Skywalker, Ridley maintains a positive view of her Star Wars journey, saying: "It didn't change how I felt about it," she stated, indicating her personal satisfaction and pride in her work on the films.
I just want to say, I don’t blame Ridley for how the sequel trilogy turned out. I blame Lucasfilm and the creative teams because they didn’t have a clear path on where to take the story. I think the sequel trilogy could’ve been incredible with Ridley and the rest of the cast, Lucasfilm just didn’t know what in the hell they were doing.
Ridley is set to reprise her role as Rey in an upcoming Star Wars movie that will follow the events of The Rise of Skywalker. This new chapter, Star Wars: New Jedi Order, teased by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, promises to explore Rey's endeavor to rebuild the Jedi Order. She said: "Rey has made a promise to Luke and that's really the core of where we're going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter."
In the meantime, the Star Wars universe continues to expand in 2024 with a lineup including new The Bad Batch Season 3, Skeleton Crew, Tales of the Jedi Season 2, and The Acolyte. This array of content showcases the franchise's commitment to exploring new stories and characters while keeping the spirit of the original saga alive.