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Star Wars: Daisy Ridley – "Rey Was Almost a Kenobi" in Skywalker

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One of the lingering plotlines of the Star Wars sequel trilogy is Rey's origins. Her story was dominated by conflicting narratives about how she was gifted in the ways of the Force stemming whether she came from "no one" in The Last Jedi to have the blood of a Force wielder like Obi-Wan Kenobi. In The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the question was finally answered that she was the granddaughter of Emperor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Empire who returned after being cloned following the events of Return of the Jedi (1983). According to actress Daisy Ridley who went on Jimmy Kimmel Live with guest host Josh Gad, Rey's origin story was bounced around behind the scenes. She confirmed at one point, Rey was a Kenobi. "At the beginning, there was toying with an Obi-Wan connection," Ridley said. "There were different versions, and then it really went to she was 'no one.'" The idea came from The Last Jedi (2017) director Rian Johnson. It was later changed in the final film TRoS in 2019 from J.J. Abrams, who took over directing duties from the departed Colin Trevorrow, who still got writing credit.

Star Wars: Daisy Ridley Struggled Finding Roles After Films
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Image courtesy of Lucasfilm

The Confusion of Rey's Origins going to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

"Then it came to Episode IX, and J.J. pitched me the film and was like, 'Oh yeah, Palpatine's granddaddy,'" Ridley continued. "And I was like, 'Awesome.' And then two weeks later, he was like, 'Oh, we're not sure.' So, it kept changing. So, then I was filming, and I wasn't sure what the answer was gonna be." Not only did the Star Wars sequel trilogy suffer from conflicting narratives, but according to Finn actor John Boyega, the studio mishandled the stories of POC supporting cast members in an interview with GQ specifically citing himself, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, and Naomi Ackie as examples.

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Tom ChangAbout Tom Chang

I'm a follower of pop culture from gaming, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, film, and TV for over 30 years. I grew up reading magazines like Starlog, Mad, and Fangora. As a professional writer for over 10 years, Star Wars was the first sci-fi franchise I fell in love with. I'm a nerd-of-all-trades.
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