As one of the biggest stars in Star Wars, Daisy Ridley had obviously heard behind-the-scenes rumblings about a potential Ben Solo movie being in the works. When the news became public, though, she was just like all of us. “When the story came out, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was him that said it, right?”
In a new interview with IGN for the upcoming zombie film We Bury the Dead, Rey herself spoke for the first time about the canceled Star Wars film, which would’ve seen Adam Driver return as Ben Solo for director Steven Soderbergh. Ridley is used to being secretive about Star Wars, and continues to be, so it’s fitting that her first reaction was shock that Driver was the one who revealed the news. “It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year,” Ridley said.
Ridley went on to say that once the news was out there, she was delighted to see how it united Star Wars fandom. “I do love when there is a collective of positivity,” Ridley said. “The way the internet seems to have rallied to try and get it to happen. I think one, it’s fantastic for us all. It’s good for us to all be united about something in a really positive way. Obviously, everyone knows he was a very popular character, but it was also lovely to think, ‘Wow, people really, really care and want this.’ I just… I like it. I like when people join forces—excuse the pun—from all around the world, all different sorts of people. I just love that the Star Wars fandom is such a huge and gorgeous array of different points of view and different people, and the fact that everyone is really behind this thing, I think, is just sort of lovely, in a time that is so fucking nuts for probably every single person on this Earth. I think it’s wonderful. So I was surprised, and honestly, I felt joyful about how it went down.”
That’s the joy Star Wars fans would likely feel if Ridley herself suited back up as the Last Jedi, which is still, apparently, in the works. She had no real updates to offer on that front, though. “I think over the years, I’ve learned how the reality of getting any film made is so massive,” she said. “The hurdles are vast… But with this particularly, I know that incredible voices and creatives are part of it, and I know the wait will be worth it.”
Read more from Ridley over at IGN. Her new zombie film, We Bury the Dead, opens January 2.
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