Daisy Ridley Says She Was Misquoted, Rey Could Return After 'Episode IX'
Rey, a favorite of the Force in the Star Wars universe was also an immediate favorite amongst fans. A recent string of news reports that Rey wouldn’t return in her current manifestation left a lot of those fans heartbroken. But, fear not, Rey just might make it past Star Wars: Episode IX after all.
Rey actress Daisy Ridley was recently quoted as saying that she didn’t have an interest in returning to the role of Rey after Star Wars: Episode IX. It turns out that was wrong. Ridley told Comicbook.com in an interview published Monday that she’d been misquoted — though she didn’t necessarily confirm she’d made any agreements with Lucasfilm about appearing past Episode IX.
Misquoted. I was misquoted. I was asked — by the way, at the end of a very long day, at the end of a very long shoot — I was asked how I felt going forward. And I said, in my mind, the story finishes at Episode IX. To me, Star Wars is in threes. [Episodes] IV, V, VI; I, II, III; VII, VIII, IX. So, for me, that’s what I was signing on to; VII, VIII, IX. So that’s really what I was answering. And I think, for now — I’m not saying forever. Obviously, Rey will always be Rey… and obviously I don’t know what happens in Episode IX, or even if I’m in it. But for now I think it would be — To me, IX was always the end of this chapter. So, it’s not me going ‘I don’t want to.’ It’s just that’s what I always pictured.
The Rolling Stone article, where the confusion started, was published Wednesday, quoted her as saying that she didn’t know what she was signing up for.
“I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films,” Ridley said. “So in my head, it’s three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out.”
Rolling Stone — and, subsequently, just about every other entertainment-adjacent news site — took Ridley’s quote to mean that she didn’t want to play Rey again after Episode IX. The misquote, confusingly, fell out of line with what Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had recently said about including Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and BB-8 in future Star Wars stories. As the company looked forward to the future, Ridley’s breakout character still had a place in the galaxy.
Let’s hope the narrative doesn’t change again. We don’t know if we could handle the disappointment.
Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi opens everywhere on December 15. Check out all of Inverse’s coverage on the film right here.
