Daisy Ridley Reveals Whether She'd Ever Return To Star Wars

One of the trickiest parts of Star Wars storytelling is balancing the old and the new, given the galaxy created by George Lucas is filled with both history and possibility. There are countless old characters whose journeys might continue in any number of ways, even after their apparent deaths. But there's also so much potential to create new heroes and villains who might interact with and expand upon the world-building that has already been established. Everyone looking to tackle a Star Wars project –– and the list is long these days –– has to ask whether audiences will respond better to nostalgia or novelty.

Daisy Ridley knows which side she's ready to come down on, at least in terms of the elements of the franchise that are closest to her. After three movies playing Rey, the scavenger-turned-Jedi hero of the sequel trilogy, Ridley explained in a recent interview with IGN where — if anywhere at all — she sees her character going after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The future may always be in motion, but don't hold your breath for Ridley's return to the galaxy far, far away.

In her IGN interview, the English actress shared that she feels Rey's story wrapped up perfectly in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, and that she doesn't feel a pull to continue that narrative in any way since she's completely happy with how it ended.

"I think for me, the beauty of Episode IX is it ends with such hope and such potential," Ridley said. "I just feel like that was Rey's perfect ending." 

She then noted that the events of the Star Wars sequel trilogy constituted Rey's great struggle –– she came into her own as Jedi, made peace with her past, and defeated the First Order and the reborn Emperor after all –– and that she thinks the character is probably "running around the forest somewhere having a great time" following the events of The Rise of Skywalker, which ended with Rey returning Luke and Leia's lightsabers and declaring herself as "Rey Skywalker." As Ridley told IGN, "I feel totally, totally satisfied with how that story finished."

Ridley also shared that she thinks it's important for the Star Wars franchise to find new heroes and to explore new ground. She cited The Mandalorian as a perfect example of a Star Wars property that has taken its own path and steered the franchise in a new and exciting direction — all while still remaining true to the core ideals of Star Wars.

"There are so many amazing characters in Star Wars, that it's sort of an amazing thing," she said. "I was watching the new episode of Mandalorian, and it's just like the places it can go beyond even where it is now is so exciting."

Of course, even that branch of the franchise's tree has begun to draw more and more on already established elements to tell Mando's story – introducing Bo-Katan Kryze and Dark Troopers, and teasing the upcoming live-action debut of Ahsoka Tano. 

Given Star Wars' love of expanding its universe and exploring the interstitial time between big movies, it seems likely that audiences haven't seen the last of Rey, even if she probably won't appear in a live-action film again. Comic books, novels, video games, even the non-canon LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special – there are plenty of outlets short of a streaming series or another film in which Rey could easily make an appearance, where smaller details can be added retroactively to adorn her larger arc.

Daisy Ridley might be done telling Rey's story, but in Star Wars, the actors are what the characters grow beyond.