Summary
- Daisy Ridley believes concerns about sexism within the Star Wars community are often blown out of proportion, as her own experiences have been warm and supportive.
- Ridley’s return to the franchise is a statement that it is moving beyond nostalgia, focusing on new things and inclusivity, and social media gripes won’t stop that.
- The upcoming slate of new Star Wars movies aims to tell different stories to satisfy a wide range of fans, but details about Rey Skywalker’s story and the others remain unknown for now.
While the Star Wars franchise is known for putting some epic battles on-screen, there are just as many that take place in the social media arena thanks to the very vocal and opinionated fan base. Having been called out many times as being toxic, racist or sexist, it has fallen to Daisy Ridley to step forward and speak out on behalf of the fans.
Ahead of her return to the franchise as Rey Skywalker in the forthcoming New Jedi Order film, Ridley addressed concerns about sexism within the Star Wars community and how she believes it is often blown out of proportion. According to Ridley, her experiences working in the franchise have been shaped by support and acceptance, which is certainly not the impression that is sometimes given in online debates.
As Ridley prepares to reprise her role, the conversation around the sequel trilogy and its reception has come up once more, with some fans again voicing their dissatisfaction as well as their belief that this new movie will follow the same trend. Part of this noise seems to have been spurred on by the appointment of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as the director, which has subsequently led to accusations of sexism rearing their head. Ridley, though, doesn’t believe there is a problem with sexism among the majority of fans, as she has never had an issue.
Speaking to NBC News, Ridley shared her perspective on the matter, emphasizing the warmth and encouragement she’s received from the majority of the fanbase. When specifically asked about the opinions being shared online, she said:
I think my take is things get blown out of proportion and the interactions I’ve ever had with people have been nothing but wonderful and supportive. I’ve only ever been embraced. And I think we’re going to make a great film.
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Ridley’s decision to return to the galaxy far, far away is not just about continuing her character’s story in the wake of the sequel trilogy. It also acts as a statement to the fan base that the franchise has moved beyond the movies of the ‘70s and ‘80s to focus on new things, and a little griping on social media is clearly not about to stop that continuing as the franchise becomes more inclusive.
Her return as Rey Skywalker will hopefully deliver a new story that fans can get behind, but of course, there is still some way to go before we actually find out any real details about what the new movie will entail. As just one branch of the upcoming slate of new movies heading into production, the emphasis seems to be on telling very different stories in the belief that most people will find something to satisfy them. Whether Rey’s story, the “First Jedi” prequel, one of the two Mandalorian movies or Taika Waititi’s mystery addition to the saga will achieve this is something that we will not find out for a few years.
Meanwhile, the entire Star Wars franchise can be found streaming on Disney+
