Star Wars: Daisy Ridley Addresses How Fans Will React to the Rise of Skywalker and Backlash

It's a serious understatement to say that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is carrying a massive amount of pressure on its back: thefilm not only has to wrap up the various lingering mysteries of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (like Rey's origin), but also bring those answers full thematic circle in order to close off the entire nine-film Skywalker Saga in proper fashion. After Star Wars: The Last Jedi it's clear that the fan base is in a very divisive place, and that reaction to The Rise of Skywalker could be even bigger and more volatile.

However, there's one person who is seemingly unconcerned with the potential fan backlash to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: franchise star Daisy Ridley!

Here's what Daisy Ridley had to say when questioned about the potential fan reactions to Rise of Skywalker - especially the angry ones:

"There are people that are never going to f*ckin' like it and there's no other way around it," Ridley told GQ. "But I think people are going to feel like this was made with a lot of love and JJ worked really hard to tie up nine films. It's impossible to make everyone happy."

Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi exposed a dark underbelly of the Star Wars fandom - one that became outright toxic for those involved with making the Sequel Trilogy films. Johnson has been hounded by trolls who want to tear him down for making a very different kind of Star Wars movie; and cast members like Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) actually had their mental health affected by the level of hate and vitriol that Last Jedi haters were trolling her with, over social media.

The main cast members - Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac etc. - have had to endure their own gauntlets of trolling and harassment, going back as far as The Force Awakens' release in 2015. Ridley alone has had endure claims that her casting was just a circumstance of Star Wars's being taken over by Social Justice Warriors; that her character Rey is a "Mary Sue" or other derogatory terms; and of course, the usual gross comments about her looks and physique. Its clear from the interview that Daisy Ridley is no longer one to lay down and accept that ridicule - and certainly isn't being bent or bowed by it:

"Some of the sh*t people have said to me about Star Wars you wouldn't believe. I have had people say to me, 'I mean, it wasn't a great film, was it?' I'm like, that's just bad manners. That's fuckin' not nice."

More importantly: that kind of behavior has never been what Star Wars is about.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be in theaters in December 20th. The Mandalorian streams new episodes every Friday on Disney+.