Daisy Ridley Discusses Negative Fan Reactions To ‘The Rise of Skywalker’

Happy birthday, Daisy Ridley! This morning, the DragCast posted a podcast episode they recorded with the Star Wars heroine talking about the quarantine, Disney and of course—Star Wars. The final film in the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker, premiered in December to mixed reviews and a lower box office than its divisive predecessor, The Last Jedi.  Although Ridley hasn’t been on social media since 2016, she remarked that she is well aware of the criticism, which was not always easy to see. “Like 98% it’s so amazing, this last film- it was really tricky. Like, January was not that nice”, Ridley said. “…I was like where’s the love gone?” She went on to explain how she feels about social media and why Star Wars has become such a hot topic of conversation today. “I think in general people share so much on social media… I guess now conversations are just more public, so there’s stuff I wouldn’t have seen,” Ridley said.  “But honestly like trying to scroll through my newsfeed in January and trying to not see Star Wars stuff- I’d see headlines and be like oh my god, this is so upsetting, so it’s been tricky. But then it’s like, you know, having that thing of I feel really proud of it and I’m so thrilled to be part of it.” Read: Knights of The Rogue Republic: A Star Wars Fan Podcast | April 10, 2020 Ridley stays neutral on the subject meanwhile Star Wars editors recently discussed their disagreement with fans’ response to the film noting that they thought Episode 8 felt out of place in the trilogy— a criticism often made about Episode 9. Hopefully, with the next Star Wars trilogy still slated for 2022, there will be less divisiveness among the fans and creators with the beloved fan-favorite Skywalker family out of the picture.