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.”
