Daisy Ridley details what it was like on the final day of filming for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and whether or not she’s said goodbye to Rey forever…
Daisy Ridley’s life was forever changed on the day she landed a lead role in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Less than six years after she was cast as Rey, Ridley has now said goodbye to her “Star Wars” family for the last time after she finished filming the final scenes in “The Rise of Skywalker,” which is due out on December 20.
Ridley admits it was an emotional moment for her during those last scenes as director J.J. Abrams shouted cut for the last time after she portrayed the same character in three epic films.
“The scene was me being very sad,” Ridley said when speaking to GQ in the U.K. “Let’s just say it was not hard to be upset in that scene. I did this embarrassing speech that I can’t remember. It was so sad.”
While taking on the responsibility for what has inevitably become an iconic role in the “Star Wars” franchise, Ridley will now prepare to move on with her career after “The Rise of Skywalker” comes out later this month.
The 27-year-old actress from London already has several roles in the works for her post “Star Wars” career but what are the chances she would ever return to the role of Rey at some point in the future? Considering how Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher largely said goodbye to “Star Wars” with “Return of the Jedi” in 1983 only to return to the franchise more than 30 years later, it always seems possible that Ridley could get the call to come back sometime down the road.
For her part, Ridley doesn’t see that happening, however, especially given the finality of those final scenes in the upcoming movie, which has been widely regarded as the final chapter in the “Skywalker Saga” that started with the original “Star Wars” film back in 1977.
“It felt like an end,” Ridley said. “I can’t actually imagine it right now… I don’t know what’ll happen in however many years.”
After “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” lands in theaters, the franchise will move forward with several projects already in the works including the ongoing series “The Mandalorian,” which has received rave reviews on Disney+. Ewan McGregor will return to his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a separate Disney+ series while “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson has been hired to create his own film trilogy set in the “Star Wars” universe in the future.
It doesn’t seem likely Ridley will take part in anything “Star Wars” related moving forward but like all actors who have taken on these memorable roles, you can never say never.
