The Surprising Reason Daisy Ridley Was Disappointed by ‘The Last Jedi’
Many Star Wars fans have strong opinions on The Last Jedi. A lot of hardcore fans were upset by the film’s storyline. What might surprise you is someone very close to Star Wars was disappointed by the film: Daisy Ridley.
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ controversy
The Last Jedi was the most polarizing film in recent memory. Some fans lauded the film for bucking the franchise’s conventions. Others disliked it for the same reasons.
Daisy Ridley gave a surprisingly candid interview to Fox 5 DC where she discussed her feelings on the film. The interviewer asked her about scenes in Star Wars which utilize old footage of Carrie Fisher.
Daisy Ridley opens up
Ridley discussed Rey’s relationship to Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. She explained “J. J. [Abrams] might disagree, but Rey was looking for a parent figure and Luke just wasn’t that for her and that’s what I always found so upsetting about The Last Jedi and why I felt like it was so emotional doing it ’cause like all she wants is a family.”
She compared Rey’s relationship with Luke to her relationship with Leia in The Rise of Skywalker. “So, the Leia thing, even to have that sense of someone older and wiser who is helping you, it’s such a comforting feeling. I think watching it you do get that sense.”
Ridley briefly discussed fan disappointment in the film in an interview from July 1, 2019. When asked if the backlash surprised her, she told USA Today “I wasn’t surprised, no. 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.”
She elaborated “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, [The Last Jedi’s director, Rian Johnson is] a filmmaker and one person can’t dictate how a film is supposed to be – but freedom of expression, sure.”
Mark Hamill feels her pain
Ridley is not the first Last Jedi actor to express criticism of the film. Mark Hamill famously disagreed with Johnson’s vision for the film. According to Insider, Hamill was upset by Luke’s willingness to give up.
He explained “I said to Rian, I said, Jedis don’t give up. I mean even if he [Luke] had a problem he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. If he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong. So, right there we had a fundamental difference. But, it’s not my story anymore. It’s somebody else’s story [Rey’s], and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective.”
To make his work on the film easier for him, Hamill pretended he was playing a different character. He said “I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s Jake Skywalker. He’s not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.”
Some like The Last Jedi. Some don’t. Regardless of one’s attitude toward the film, it’s commendable that Ridley and Hamil were honest about their feelings.
