Star Wars: Daisy Ridley Was "Quite Surprised" That J.J. Abrams Returned For 'Episode IX'

Following the announcement that Colin Trevorrow would no longer be directing Star Wars: Episode IX, many fans assumed a former Star Wars filmmaker would take over the production. The confirmation that J.J. Abrams would return to the director's chair might not have surprised everyone, but it reportedly surprised star Daisy Ridley, who claimed she burst into tears when she learned the news.

"Everyone was saying it was going to be [The Last Jedi director] Rian [Johnson] and everything, so I was genuinely quite surprised," Ridley revealed, "and was like 'Oh my God!' and I started crying immediately with three people in the office. And they were like, 'What the f*ck just happened?' So I emailed J.J. saying, 'Oh my God I am crying.' And he goes, 'Oh my God, me too.' And then we had a conversation a few days later and we stay in touch. But we stayed in touch the whole time anyway."

Ridley confirms just how strong a connection she has with Abrams, despite rumors hinting that they weren't always the best of pals.

One story about their interactions on set involved the rumor that Abrams called some of Ridley's acting "wooden."

"It is true! After the first take, he goes, 'Just a bit... wooden,' and then we carried on," Ridley confirmed of the rumor to Elle. "But JJ is the kind of person who before a scene says, 'Don't f*ck it up.' So he said, 'Just a bit wooden,' and I was like, 'Oh my God.' But it got better."

The scene in question involved Rey dismounting from her speeder while on Jakku, which might not have given her much opportunity to showcase her skills. Given the frankness of Abrams' direction, his comments could seem quite negative, but Ridley assures that wasn't entirely the case.

"It's only because that word 'wooden' is so loaded. But it was just tense," the actress pointed out. "And I thought, 'OK, loosen that sh*t right up and it'll get better.'"

It's easy to understand how the interaction could have been misconstrued, so we're happy to hear that Ridley cried tears of joy about the upcoming reunion.

We'll next get to see Ridley when The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15.

[H/T Rolling Stone]