Daisy Ridley Reveals Why She Wanted to Quit Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Each trilogy in the Star Wars saga has hinged on a group of actors to help tell the story. The prequels relied on Natalie Portman, Hayden Christiansen, and Ewan McGregor. The original trilogy launched the entire franchise with Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford. And now the new trilogy sets the stage for the future of the saga with Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley.

But there was a moment where Ridley, who is arguably the most important actor in the new Star Wars movies as the character Rey, came very close to quitting while filming her first movie. The actress opened up about her experience while shooting Star Wars: The Force Awakens, hinting at a bit of Imposter Syndrome before settling down to make the film.

“It was pretty horrid. It was really scary. I felt just sick and I didn’t really know anyone yet. It takes me a really long time to settle down with people,” Ridley explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And I do remember being behind the speeder and there were loads of people there and somebody had an umbrella over me and even that, like, ‘Oh someone’s holding an umbrella over you? OK.’ And I remember thinking, ‘I can’t do it.’ Like I can’t do this, this is not right.”

There have been some questions about the Star Wars franchise after Disney purchased Lucasfilm, especially after Star Wars: The Force Awakens seemed to set up a lot of mysteries for the sequel trilogy. Those mysteries were outright ignored in some cases for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

One of the biggest questions has to do with Rey’s lineage, as many fan theories have suggested she could either be the child of Obi-Wan Kenobi or Emperor Palpatine. While The Last Jedi suggested that her parents do not matter, it seems like the mystery is not quite solved as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will once again address this question.

“[Director J.J. Abrams] did say the question is answered,” Ridley said to USA Today. “So at the end of the film, you do know what the dealio is.”

While the previous film split the characters up and forced them to go on their own adventures, it looks like the new movie will bring the core group together in a mission to take down the First Order.

“Genre-wise, it’s different from the other two, which will become clear when the film comes out,” Ridley said. “It’s quite emotional. There’s a different drive than the previous two films, but there’s a lot of fun. I really missed John [Boyega] during the last one, but we’re back together and now Oscar [Isaac] is part of it. To me, it felt like kids going on an adventure.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres in theaters on December 20th.