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Daisy Ridley Confirms Rey’s Parents Revealed in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Any morsel of new information about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is something to savor. The 9th and final film in the epic Skywalker saga is inching towards its December 20 release date. The film will be, of course, shrouded in secrecy, with new information possessively guarded and parceled out as Lucasfilm sees fit.

Yet when one of the film’s stars is out publicizing an entirely different movie, you can guarantee they’ll be asked about The Rise of Skywalker. Such was the case for the new trilogy’s main mover, Rey herself, Daisy Ridley. Ridley is currently doing press for her latest film Ophelia, which refocuses Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” on the titular prince’s doomed love interest. While speaking with USA TodayRidley offered up a few thoughts on reuniting with writer/director J.J. Abrams for the final Star Wars film in the new trilogy. Ridley also confirmed what J.J. Abrams had mentioned a while back—the identity of Rey’s parents will be revealed.

First things first—Ridley was rather open about the backslash from some quarters over Rian Johnson’s bold middle trilogy film The Last Jedi“I wasn’t surprised, no,” Ridley told USA Today. “It’s just a different thing. Everyone’s going to have an opinion now anyway on the internet, but I also think it’s fair. If people hold something incredibly dear and think they know how it should be and it’s not like that, it’s fair for people to think they were done wrong. It doesn’t mean they were – ultimately, Rian’s a filmmaker and one person can’t dictate how a film is supposed to be – but freedom of expression, sure.”

As for the feel of Abrams’ The Last Jedi, Ridley says it isn’t so much as a return to the tone of The Force Awakens as a reunion for herself, John Boyega’s Finn and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, all of whom were on different missions in The Last Jedi. 

“Genre-wise, it’s different from the other two, which will become clear when the film comes out,” Ridley told USA Today. “It’s quite emotional. There’s a different drive than the previous two films, but there’s a lot of fun. I really missed John (Boyega) during the last one, but we’re back together and now Oscar (Isaac) is part of it. To me, it felt like kids going on an adventure.”

And what about Rey’s parents? In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) told Rey her parents were nobodies. “They were filthy junk traders,” Ren said. “Sold you off for drinking money. They’re dead in a pauper’s grave in the Jakku desert. You come from nothing. You’re nothing, but not to me.” Yet for The Rise of Skywalker, Ridley confirms that an answer is forthcoming.

“(Director J.J. Abrams) did say the question is answered. So at the end of the film, you do know what the dealio is.”

Featured image: Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. Courtesy Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Studios

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bryan Abrams

Bryan Abrams is the Editor-in-chief of The Credits. He's run the site since its launch in 2012. He lives in New York.

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