Daisy Ridley, star of the final trilogy in the Skywalker Saga, has opened up about the Star Wars franchise’s rocky reception from fandom and social media to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
“It’s changed film by film honestly, like 98% it’s so amazing, this last film it was really tricky,” Ridley told the DragCast podcast (via EW). While The Rise of Skywalker ultimately grossed over $1 billion worldwide, the film was met with a negative critical response (52% on Rotten Tomatoes) and deeply mixed reactions from fans after opening last December.
Ridley said “January [2020] 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?'”
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“I think it’s that tricky thing of when you’re part of something that is so filled with love and then people [don’t like it],” Ridley said.
The actress, who portrayed Rey in Episodes 7-9, said that while viewers are entitled to their opinions, she personally wouldn’t take to social media to vent about movies she disliked given that she works in the industry.
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“I guess now conversations are just more public, so there’s stuff I wouldn’t have seen, but honestly 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,'” Ridley said.
“So 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.”
For more on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, discover how The Skywalker Legacy redeems the final film, watch this General Hux blooper, learn what Anthony Daniels told us about C-3PO’s once-larger role in Ep. 9, and find out what storylines and concepts didn’t make it into the final film.
Source: IGN.com Daisy Ridley on Star Wars Reactions: 'Where’s the Love Gone?'