Star Wars is one of the biggest media franchises of all time, which means Hollywood’s biggest filmmakers and actors would give anything to be a part of the story of a galaxy far, far away. However, sticking to such an iconic saga comes at a cost. In particular, the pressure from die-hard fans to stay true to the original theme, not to spoil key details, while conforming to the tastes and standards of prevailing cinema, is worrisome for everyone involved. Daisy Ridley experienced it all when she became the main face of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Daisy Ridley was largely unknown before entering the Star Wars universe as Rey in The Force Awakens (2015), the first chapter of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. The film, directed by JJ Abrams, was a huge box office success, grossing $2.071 billion worldwide. However, the Skywalker saga took a turn for the worse in the second film, which separated Finn and Rey and neglected Poe’s character development. Additionally, The Rise of Skywalker (2019) divided opinion by abandoning the idea that “new legends will be born” based on nostalgia.
Speaking about the show’s divided reception, Daisy Ridley said: “I think it’s always troubling because you don’t want people to feel like you’re not serving something that they’re a fan of. Ridley then suggested that The Force Awakens gave everyone received a very similar response, but things changed with the film directed by Rian Johnson.
The derailment of the franchise after Johnson’s entry has always been a topic of discussion. But we know that his ideas were not taken wholeheartedly by Mark Hamill. When Hamill first read the script for The Last Jedi (2017), he disapproved of the writer-director’s changes to Luke Skywalker. Despite the different perspectives, Hamill wrote a personal story for the character to get into the mindset of an older and weary Luke.
Therefore, despite the worldwide success of Star Wars, changes to the saga and mixed fan reactions have always been hotly debated. As a fan of films and series, it is interesting to see how actors and directors manage the pressure and huge expectations of fans, while trying to create work that is faithful to them.
