‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’: Did Daisy Ridley Do Any Of Her Own Stunts?
The latest installment of the Skywalker Saga hits its one-month box-office mark today, and despite critical reviews, fans agree that the action scenes are on point. Let’s take a look at how many of those flying through the air, lightsaber-wielding stunts Daisy Ridley does herself as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Who is Daisy Ridley’s stunt double in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’?
Ridley has three women who perform stunts for her in Episode IX. Caitlin Dechelle, Katie McDonnell, and Rubie Planson all play Ridley’s stunt doubles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, according to IMDb.
Although the film shot mostly in London, there was about a week and a half of reshoots in Los Angeles that Dechelle worked on.
“I landed the role because I looked like Daisy, body-wise, and I also could handle weapons in the fight scenes we did,” Dechelle told Elle. “So a Japanese katana sword is basically a lightsaber, though it’s a slightly different fighting style using a lightsaber. In essence, it’s practically the same. Except, I have to say, a lot cooler.”
McDonnell and Planson spent the most time as Ridley’s double since they are both from England, where the movie was primarily shot.
How many of the stunts that we see in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ are Daisy Ridley?
Throughout the filming of The Rise of Skywalker, Ridley goes through intense training for her lightsaber battles. She was upset when the one stunt she did not do was in the trailer for the movie.
“I had learnt a version of it, but there was a risk of breaking ankles so I couldn’t do the full thing,” Ridley told USA Today regarding Rey’s backflip in the trailer of the film. “But there’s a bit in the film where you see me upside down. It’s funny because I did 95% of my (stunts), but that’s the one thing I didn’t fully do. People are like, ‘Oh, that’s so cool,’ and I’m like, ‘Ugh.'”
Although she has several stunt doubles, Ridley performs as many of the stunts as she possibly can. The only time she must let someone else step in is when the producers feel the stunt is too dangerous for their star.
Who performed the backflip over the tie fighter in the famous ‘Rise of Skywalker’ trailer?
The most talked-about stunt in the film is the clip of Rey doing a backflip over a moving tie fighter. The video is in the trailer of the movie, so it is viewed over and over again by fans. That stunt was performed by McDonnell, who is so enthralled to have been a part of it all.
“This has to be one of the biggest ‘what on Earth is my life?!?’ moments I’ve ever experienced,” wrote McDonnell on Instagram. “Riding a speeder through explosions in the desert, with Chewie and BB8 on the back!”
The Ninja Warrior finalist was excited to share with her friends and family the secret project she worked on for nearly a year of her life, when The Rise of Skywalker came out in theaters.
Although Ridley performs the majority of her stunts, it is incredible to meet the behind-the-scenes stunt-doubles who do that other 5%. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is playing in theaters now.
