Highlights
- Despite the divisive reactions to The Rise of Skywalker, the movie introduced new aspects to the franchise, including the revelation that Rey is Emperor Palpatine's descendant.
- Daisy Ridley, the film's lead, believes that Rey being a hero is not determined by her lineage, but rather by her character and choices, which is a perspective worth admiring.
- Ridley managed to avoid the toxicity from the Star Wars fandom, as she didn't read stuff or engage in social media, but recognized that criticisms may have been more gendered than she was aware of.
Despite remaining among the most divisive Star Wars media this side of the Star Wars Holiday Special, The Rise of Skywalker still introduced a decent chunk of new aspects to the franchise that have stuck around. This includes the big reveal that was about as shocking as finding out Mysterio was, in fact, the bad guy in Spider-Man: Far From Home. But what does Daisy Ridley think about that development?
It's virtually a universally accepted opinion that The Rise of Skywalker failed due to the loudest fans having too much power. The previous film, The Last Jedi, is still considered by many to be some of the best material to ever come out of Star Wars. But a vocal minority who hated it managed to influence the sequel's production, resulting in a movie that pleased almost nobody. Among the derided aspects of it was the revelation that Ridley's Rey is, in fact, the descendent of Emperor Palpatine. But forgetting the synchronized eye rolls that moment inspired worldwide, what did Ridley herself think about it?
Back in January, Ridley revealed to Rolling Stone how she felt about that whole thing. Until The Rise of Skywalker, fans had spent the preceding years speculating on who exactly Rey was and whether she had any familial ties to fan-favorite characters. Then, Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi hammered home the idea that anybody can be a Jedi regardless of whether they share a bloodline with powerful old beings. The unfortunate reaction from many to that film seemed to discourage The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams from continuing its ideas. But some of his philosophy stuck around, from a certain point of view. That's how Ridley viewed it.
"What was interesting about the last one, for me, was that you can be a hero and not come from anywhere or you can be a hero and come from literally the worst person in the universe. You're not your parents, you're not your grandparents, you're not your bloodline and you're not the generations before you."
The Rise of Skywalker ignored a perfect sequel setup from The Last Jedi, effectively turning off many fans after they enjoyed what had come before. While many fans still view Rey's lineage reveal as unoriginal, Ridley's interpretation of the plot element has merit. It's not that Rey is powerful because she's a Palpatine. The idea is that she's a good person despite being a Palpatine. The fact that she could be related to one of the most notoriously evil beings in history and still become a hero is something to be admired.
Interestingly enough (and likely luckily for her), Ridley managed to avoid much of the toxicity leveled at her and the movie, so her perspective comes from an untainted place. "The funny thing is, because I don't read stuff and wasn't on social media for a while," Ridley added on the topic of sexism and racism in the Star Wars fandom, "random people in the street would be so open with their opinions and I would be like, I'm good. I don't need to hear that. Cool. Great. As a person, whether I liked a film or not, I would never go up to a person and go, 'I hated your film.' Because I'm a human being. It was probably more gendered than I was aware of."
There are still plenty of valid criticisms against the film, such as The Rise of Skywalker diminishing Kelly Marie Tran's role due to bad-faith hate for her character of Rose Tico in The Last Jedi. But despite that and the movie's impressive collection of MacGuffins, there are still shining spots in the rough that are worth remembering, like Ridley's view of Rey's reveal. It's a good lesson to learn. Few, if any, pieces of media are entirely unworthy of praise.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available on Disney Plus.
Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
When it's discovered that the evil Emperor Palpatine did not die at the hands of Darth Vader, the rebels must race against the clock to find out his whereabouts. Finn and Poe lead the Resistance to put a stop to the First Order's plans to form a new Empire, while Rey anticipates her inevitable confrontation with Kylo Ren.
Source: Rolling Stone