Star Wars Actress Claims Her Character Survived the Events of The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still being hotly debated on the Internet and fans are concerned that some characters didn’t get a ton of screen time after that final battle. Well, Jessica Henwick, probably more known to Star Wars fans as Jess Pava, wants the people to know she’s okay. She talked to The Hollywood Reporter about a bunch of topics and the conversation slid toward The Rise of Skywalker. The actress was quick to point out that she made it through the climactic encounter unscathed along with some other facts that fans might not have known about her from previous installments. Henwick also shared that she finds the fandom absolutely wonderful because of all the positive treatment she’s gotten from different corners of the Internet.

“Yes! Jess Pava is alive and well,” she told THR. “You can read up on all her adventures in new spinoff comic books. So, don’t worry, she’s doing great. She’s living her best life.”

When the publication asked about filming those intense scenes, she let it slip that some of her co-stars just didn’t have the stomach for them. Being thrown into a space battle atop something that looks like a high-tech roller coaster, and then having to remember your lines sounds kind of hard.

“The thing I remember the most is that all the other actors would get motion sickness,” Henwick explained. “We got into this plane rig, and it would lift you up twenty feet in the air. It would also move like a rollercoaster. The other actors could only do 10-15 minutes of filming before they would get sick, have to stop and come down to get back on their feet. So, I was the one who was up there saying, ‘No, keep rolling! I’ll just start riffing.’ I love roller coasters so I thought it was hilarious.”

Having her around must have made it a little easier on everyone else. It may come as a surprise as well that Henwick auditioned for the part of Rey. Of course, she didn’t get it in the end. But, she still found her way to make a mark on the creative team.

“I was auditioning for a different character, actually, so I spent six months auditioning for that character,” She said. “And then, at the end, J.J. said, ‘I want you to be in the film, but I want to write a character for you.’ That’s how Jess Pava was created. So, it was a very, very long experience. It’s hard because I’ve been doing this long enough to know that you go in, audition, put it to the back of your mind, don’t think about it and don’t get emotionally invested. But, after six months, you can’t help but just desperately want it. I’m also such a big J.J. fan. So, I was a mess at the end of those six months.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still in theaters.