Although there’s a fair amount of debate over whether The Last Jedi was a good or bad Star Wars movie, there’s one thing that all sides will probably agree on: Rise of Skywalker sucked. As Rey in the sequel trilogy, it was leading Star Wars cast member Daisy Ridley who took the brunt of a lot of criticism regarding not The Last Jedi, but the science fiction movie trilogy as a whole.
One of the most controversial choices surrounding Star Wars character Rey was the idea that her parents were essentially nobodies and she came from nothing — only for it to later be revealed that she was somehow the granddaughter of the clone of Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine.
Recounting Rey’s complicated parentage in an interview with Rolling Stone, Ridley suggested that the idea of her character being “nothing” first appeared in The Force Awakens. “Well, J.J. [Abrams] was the one who was like, ‘She is of no one,’ so it wasn’t just The Last Jedi where that was the message,” she explained. “What was interesting about the last one, for me, was that you can be a hero and not come from anywhere or you can be a hero and come from literally the worst person in the universe.”
She continued, “You’re not your parents, you’re not your grandparents, you’re not your bloodline and you’re not the generations before you. So, I always was like, sure. But it’s beyond my pay grade. I say the words, do the thing. I do love the version of, you can be anyone you want to be, but I also love the version where you can rectify wrongs and can’t help what you’re born into.”
If you’re still trying to wrap your head around the Skywalker saga, why not check out our guide to all the Star Wars movies in order? Alternatively, give yourself a break from old and new movies and peruse some Star Wars series instead for shorter and snappier galaxy adventures.