Daisy Ridley will return as Rey one last time in this month's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, ending a journey that began with 2015's The Force Awakens and helped reintroduce the iconic franchise to an entirely new generation.
Ridley had been cast by filmmaker J.J. Abrams for the 2015 film, and the director warned her that accepting the role of the aspiring Jedi Knight would fundamentally change her life forever due to the enormity of the franchise and its passionate fanbase.
"Understand the scale," recalled Ridley in an interview with GQ in regards to Abrams' warning upon her casting. "This is not a role in a movie. This is a religion for people. It changes things on a level that is inconceivable.”
The runaway success of The Force Awakens, becoming the franchise's first installment to earn over $2 billion at the worldwide box office, made Ridley an overnight international superstar. Since then, Ridley has reprised the role in 2017's The Last Jedi and will help close out the "Skywalker Saga" in the eagerly anticipated Episode IX, as Rey prepares for a final confrontation against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Matt Smith, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film arrives on Dec. 20.