Letitia Wright As Rey Skywalker in an Alternate ‘Star Wars’ Universe? Sure, Why Not
If there’s one thing Star Wars fans love, it’s wondering what could have been. There’s constant debate within the fandom about how things could have turned out if plot points changed, characters made different decisions, or something got rewritten. Pondering these kinds of “what if?” scenarios has been a hobby of many, with some even extending to how the different movies might have played out if someone else had been chosen to portray one of the franchise’s iconic characters. Recently, some have floated the idea of Letitia Wright taking the role of Rey from the sequel film trilogy, and it’s a pretty interesting possibility.
Wright has established herself as an amazing actor
Wright’s career has been astounding for someone so young. Establishing herself in the early parts of the 2010s as a charismatic and unforgettable guest actor on shows like Top Boy, Chasing Shadows, Cucumber, and Doctor Who, a major break came when she starred in the critically-acclaimed Urban Hymn. Between all of this, Wright worked as an accomplished stage actress, earning praise for her performance in Eclipsed. She was also Nish in the “Black Museum” episode of Black Mirror, earning an Emmy nomination for her work.
That said, most know her today for her award-winning turn as Shuri in Marvel’s Black Panther. The sarcastic, super-genius little sister to Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, she had a knack for stealing every scene she was in.
Some fans have suggested she would have been great in the role of Rey
Screen Rant recently did a breakdown of some of the most interesting fan castings for Star Wars characters. While choices like Helen Mirren as a more active Mon Mothma or Timothee Chalamet as a less wooden Anakin might be fun, it’s Wright as the sequel trilogy’s star that stands out the most.
Like many of the other choices on the list, speculating about Wright in the role of Rey shouldn’t be taken as a slight against the original actors; it’s just a new perspective on the stories we already know. With that in mind, it’s undeniable that Wright would be able to bring something special to the character. She’s already proven her amazing acting range, meaning she’d be more than able to balance Rey’s sense of child-like wonder at the heroes and things around her with her angst over her lineage and conflict in the Force.
Casting Wright would help break Star Wars tradition
Wright’s casting would also be a novel way to break a strange tradition started by the movies, that being the type of actresses playing the lead heroine of a particular film. Though it’s most likely been unintentional, every one of them so far has been a brunette white woman. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala, Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra, and Daisy Ridley as the original Rey Skywalker all fit the bill. Wright would, fairly obviously, break with this in a neat way, while still helping to fill the quota of characters from Space Britain.
There’s also the issue of prominent representation, which is still an issue for Star Wars. While the number of important non-white characters has increased in the films and especially in other media, major characters are still largely white. Even when diverse actors get cast in major roles, they often don’t get the kind of screentime or treatment they deserve. Thandiwe Newton, who played Val in Solo: A Star Wars Story, has spoken out about this on several occasions, especially in relation to this happening to her own character.
Ultimately, while this is merely some speculative fan casting, it would be nice to keep these kinds of things in mind when the next slate of films finally does start production one day.
