When Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters last December, it was pretty hard to ignore the backlash it received. Even the film’s cast and crew couldn’t escape it. While some seem to have brushed it off, Daisy Ridley has admitted that the negative reaction from fans left her feeling upset.
Truth be told, it can’t be easy for your big break to be a lead role in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. Over the past few years, Daisy Ridley has ridden the Star Wars wave admirably -- especially since her character, Rey, wasn’t exactly immune to backlash from the beginning. But the actress recently revealed that the fervor surrounding the controversial finale to the Skywalker Saga was shocking to her (via DragCast):
It's changed film by film honestly, like 98% it's so amazing, this last film it was really tricky. January was not that nice. It was weird, I felt like all of this love that we'd sort of been shown the first time around, I was like 'Where's the love gone?' I watched the documentary, the making-of, this week, and it's so filled with love; and I think it's that tricky thing of when you're part of something that is so filled with love and then people...You know, everyone's entitled to not like something but it feels like it's changed slightly. I think in general that's because social media and what have you.
Fans on social media were not shy about airing their Rise of Skywalker-related grievances, ranging from Rose to Reylo and everything in between. Though each of the films in this most recent trilogy experienced a wave of fan backlash, it seems like the most recent round seems to have hurt Daisy Ridley the most. And she admits that while she personally doesn’t understand why fans get so loud on the internet, she does get that it’s just the reality these days -- one she’ll have to get used to:
If I went to a film and didn't like it, I just wouldn't tweet about it. But it's such a conversation and it always has been. I guess now conversations are just more public, so there's stuff I wouldn't have seen, but honestly trying to scroll through my news feed in January and trying not to see Star Wars stuff, I'd see headlines and be like 'Oh my god this is so upsetting.' It's been tricky but then it's having that thing of I feel really proud of it, and I'm so thrilled to be part of it. But it's a funny thing.
Daisy Ridley is one of many Star Wars cast members that have responded to fans’ frustrations over the past few months. While Kelly Marie Tran and Richard E. Grant had diplomatic responses, John Boyega took a more direct approach, and did a bit of his own trolling. It’s good to see that Daisy Ridley is willing to be honest about how the backlash has affected her -- and also trying to find the bright side in spite of it all.
If you still haven't seen Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and want to check it out for yourself, it's now available on Digital HD, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD.
