Daisy Ridley dropped some new nuggets on The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars fandom in a new interview. Photo : Lucasfilm

As the ending to not just the sequel trilogy, but a trilogy of trilogies, we all expect Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to be unique. However, in a new interview, star Daisy Ridley went a step further to describe just how different it would be.


“Genre-wise, it’s different from the other two, which will become clear when the film comes out,” Ridley said in an interview with USA Today. “It’s quite emotional. There’s a different drive than the previous two films, but there’s a lot of fun. I really missed John [Boyega] during the last one, but we’re back together and now Oscar [Isaac] is part of it. To me, it felt like kids going on an adventure.”

So does that mean the film is more dramatic? More carefree and adventurous? Does Ridley actually mean “genre” in it its usual sense, or is she more talking about “tone”? We have exactly zero answers to those questions at this point.


Speaking of answers, though, in the same interview Ridley did confirm The Rise of Skywalker would put the rest the question of Rey’s lineage. “[Director J.J. Abrams’ did say the question is answered,” Ridley said. “So at the end of the film, you do know what the dealio is.”

Finally, and most controversially, Ridley said she understood and sympathized with Star Wars fans who were put off by Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, even if she disagreed with them. “I wasn’t surprised, no,” she said when asked about the backlash. “It’s just a different thing.”

“Everyone’s going to have an opinion now anyway on the internet, but I also think it’s fair,” Ridley continued. “If people hold something incredibly dear and think they know how it should be and it’s not like that, it’s fair for people to think they were done wrong. It doesn’t mean they were—ultimately, Rian’s a filmmaker and one person can’t dictate how a film is supposed to be—but freedom of expression, sure.”


You can read more from Ridley in the full USA Today interview. And we’re sure to see more of her in the coming months as The Rise of Skywalker gets closer to its December 20 release.

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