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Daisy Ridley Opens Up About Why She's Returning As Rey For New 'Star Wars' Movie

Daisy Ridley as Rey
Disney/LucasFilm

Fans were surprised that the actor, who received a lot of hate from toxic 'Star Wars' fans, would return for a new sequel—but she noted that 'things have changed' for her.

It was confirmed at Star Wars Celebration last year that Daisy Ridley would be reprising her role as Rey in an upcoming Star Wars film set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker.

Ridley's previous performances as Rey were met with loads of toxic online hate (how dare the new Jedi be a woman), so much so that Ridley removed herself from social media, so people were surprised when the news of her return broke.


But now, Ridley is speaking out about why she chose to bring Rey back for more.

In a recent interview with Empire (no, not that one), she revealed she's “coming in a bit more eyes wide open” this time around.

“I suppose I feel more like I’m owning it."
"I suppose I owned it the first time."
"Basically, I’m an adult now."

She added that a lot has changed since her last Star Wars film.

“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.”

And, of course, the films hold a special place in her heart.

“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 a part of.”

And people on social media are excited she's a part of it, too.










While we don't know much about the upcoming film, other than it will reportedly involve the rebuilding of the Jedi Order, Ridley is quite “curious about it all.”

“It wasn’t a difficult decision."
“I didn’t say yes right away, Kathy [Kennedy] was like, ‘Take as long as you need.’"
"Not that it took that long to say yes. Why wouldn’t I [do it]?"
"Yes, they have been divisive, but also they bring a lot of love and joy to a lot of people."

Ridley is excited about navigating the changes experienced, by both herself and her character, and doing the role justice.

"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.”

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'SNL' Star Announces His Exit From The 'Toxic As Hell' Show After Three Seasons In Candid Post

The cultural institution known as Saturday Night Live is a bit of a revolving door for cast members and writers. The latest cast member to split with the team is Devon Walker, who announced his departure from the show on Instagram recently.

Though the caption was short and sweet, he further elaborated in a note later in the post. Despite labeling the note as "wait...did he quit or did he get fired?" he actually did not answer that question.

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"Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell....even amidst all the dysfunction. We made a f**ked up lil family."

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Commenters were vocal in their support of him and thanked him for a good run on the show.

Many people's first knowledge of Walker was through SNL. The comedian actually has a master's degree in organizational leadership, but got his comedy career began at an open mic night in 2014, right around when he was starting grad school.

Since then, he has written for shows like Big Mouth, as well as performing his own stand-up set for a special on Comedy Central Stand Up Featuring.

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He joined SNL in 2022 originally as a featured player, later promoted to the repertory cast in 2024. All in all, he was on SNL for 3 seasons. Though a relatively short run for the show that made comedic titans like Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, and countless others, audiences liked Walker's presence on the stage.

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He played many characters in his time on SNL, but one commenter thought his impression of NBA player Draymond Green was especially worthy of praise.

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A great run.

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As for the whole 'toxic' workplace thing, Walker is not alone. Lorne Michaels, the creator and now 40-year showrunner for SNL has a particular style of running a workplace that can rub people the wrong way.

The same day that Walker posted his resignation, writers Celeste Yim—the first non-binary and first out trans writer—as well as writer Rosamund Baker also announced the conclusion of their time on SNL.

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