A piece from Company Cue writer Rachel Kasuch

Daisy Ridley reprises her role as heroine Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi opposite Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. 

 

“Playing a character like this has made me feel more able to be unapologetic and unashamed of having an opinion.” - Daisy Ridley on playing Rey in Star Wars

 

It’s been a long two years since we saw Rey (Daisy Ridley) standing on top of a mountain opposite Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the Star Wars smash The Force Awakens. Sure, we got a side chapter in last years excellent Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but the time has finally come to see what happens next in the iconic series. Daisy Ridley became an overnight sensation as the female hero in Disney’s new evolution of the Star Wars franchise and returns in the Rian Johnson directed chapter The Last Jedi. 

 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi picks up right where The Force Awakens left off. Rey, with her new Jedi powers, is introduced to the Jedi world by Luke Skywalker. She joins forces with Finn, Poe, and Leia to unlock the Force’s mysteries of the past. Also joining the cast are Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Billie Lourd, and Benicio Del Toro. This also marks as Carrie Fishers last performance as Leia, following her tragic death during the filming of The Last Jedi last year. 

 

Daisy Ridley burst on the scene after 2015’s The Force Awakens and has since been busy with several huge projects. She starred earlier in the year in the smash hit adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express directed by Kenneth Branagh. She will star in next years films Peter Rabbit as Cottontail, and will play the titular role in Shakespeare’s Ophelia. And then of course, she will return as Rey in 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX. 

 

Our reporter Rachel Kasuch met with Daisy Ridley to discuss the making of The Last Jedi. Ridley talks about strong women, being tested in life, and meeting Prince Harry and Prince William when they visited the set. “I think they were most excited about lightsabers,” admits Ridley. “I took them around the creatures workshop and costume and everything like that. It was wonderful seeing an appreciation for all of the work that goes on behind the scenes.”

 

Credit: Rachel Kasuch