Daisy Ridley Confirms Rey Is a Different Kind of Master Than Luke in Star Wars New Jedi Order
Exclusive: Daisy Ridley tells us Rey plans to do things a little differently than Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: New Jedi Order.
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Expectations are very high for Daisy Ridley‘s return to the galaxy far, far away. The actor is set to don the Jedi robes once again in a standalone film, which currently has the working title of Star Wars: New Jedi Order, but she’s no longer playing Rey as the fresh-faced student still figuring out her place in the galaxy or among the many generations of Jedi heroes who have come before her. The Rey we’ll meet in the upcoming movie has become the teacher who is now working to build a new Jedi Order.
The movie, which is set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel), takes place 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and the end of the Sequel Trilogy. That means we’ll get to see a more mature Rey who plans to do things differently than when Luke Skywalker tried to rebuild the Jedi Order between the Original and Sequel Trilogies.
That last detail comes directly from Ridley while chatting with Den of Geek at SXSW 2024 about her new movie Magpie. When we ask her whether Rey plans to take a different approach as a teacher to the next generation of Jedi than Luke did in the Sequels, she replies with a coy smile, “I would say, from what I understand, yes. Short answer.”
It’s not difficult to see why Rey wouldn’t want to follow her Jedi Master’s exact footsteps. After all, Luke essentially failed to bring back the Order after Return of the Jedi, while his own apprentice and nephew, Ben Solo, turned to the dark side and blew up the Republic. Like Yoda told Luke in The Last Jedi, failure’s a great teacher, so it makes sense Rey has learned a few things from her Jedi Master’s mistakes. Hopefully it leads to her achieving what Luke could not.
Ridley won’t say any more about Rey’s Jedi lesson plans, but she does share how it feels to be back in Star Wars after a few years away acting in other genres and in other types of roles.
“It’s very strange. I’ve gone off and done lots of different sorts of films. I feel like I’ve learned a lot and grown a lot I would hope as an actor,” Ridley says, acknowledging that it will take a minute to get back into the groove of things as arguably the most well-known character of the modern era of Star Wars. “I think it will feel like baby steps again, like sort of starting at the beginning. But yes, I’m very excited!”
We don’t know very much about the plot of New Jedi Order beyond what Lucasfilm has shared officially, but Ridley has not been shy about expressing how excited she is about the direction Rey’s story will take in this new chapter.
“Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew it was something I really wanted to do,” Ridley told French outlet AlloCiné earlier this year. I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world. It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction.”
“[Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s] idea for the story is cool as shit,” Ridley told Variety in January. “No spoilers, but she gave me a rundown of the entire story. If it weren’t amazing, I would have been like, ‘OK, call me in five years.’ But it’s worthwhile.”
No release date has yet been set for the Star Wars Rey movie. While you wait, check out the full schedule of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV series here.