Entertainment
The Most Hated Star Wars Actor Is About To Return
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Given that The Mandalorian and Grogu ended up being a critical and commercial dud, it’s a bit hard for Star Wars fans to get excited about any upcoming movies. Nonetheless, Lucasfilm is trying to give us something new with Star Wars: Starfighter, a movie whose official plot has been largely kept under wraps. Unofficially, however, we’ve been getting dribs and drabs of what to expect from this upcoming film featuring both Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth. Recently, an alleged leak has spilled more of the beans about this movie’s plot and its colorful characters.
According to the leak, Gosling is playing a character named Cade, who is tasked with escorting Flynn Gray’s character to a planet named Adaria, which has a Jedi temple serving as a refuge for these persecuted space wizards. This lines up with other rumors about the younger character being a Force user who needs somewhere safe to develop his powers. Now, many Star Wars fans are convinced that one of the most hated characters in the franchise will be waiting on that planet: Daisy Ridley’s Rey!
Lose The Squadron, Keep The Rogue
There are plenty of interesting details about Star Wars: Starfighter, including confirmed details (like a lightsaber duel scene directed by Tom Cruise) and tantalizing rumors (like Mia Goth playing some type of evil Force user). But with the latest leaks from Bespin Bulletin, fans are mostly buzzing about this new Jedi planet, Adaria. Apparently, the planet is East Asian inspired, with a very green/brown color palette. The planet is apparently teeming with Padawan learners, all of them rocking the beige tunics that we last saw the younglings wearing in the prequels.
Based on this new leaked info, many Star Wars fans are convinced that our heroes will find Daisy Ridley’s Rey on this planet, likely at the very end of the movie. Why is that? For one thing, Disney keeps making plans to bring this character back and then scuttling them. Damon Lindelof was developing a movie that focused on an older Rey, who would be played by Helen Mirren, but that film was scrapped. More recently, there were plans for Rey to headline a New Jedi Order movie, with John Boyega’s Finn potentially appearing. While not officially canceled, there have been no major updates on this movie for years.
Somehow, Rey Returned
Now, the latest rumors are that Disney is going all in on this idea and making Rey and the next generation of Jedi a major focus for several Star Wars projects. If that is true, then Rey would be the most logical person to train these young Padawans on the planet Adaria. While Starfighter director Shawn Levy (the same man who brought us Deadpool & Wolverine) has long maintained that this would be a standalone film, it sounds more like a prelude to a new era of the franchise. Ridley’s Rey will appear at the end, setting the groundwork for her appearance in future films and TV shows.
While there are fans who really hate the character, the return of Rey is very logical. Ridley gave a great performance in the sequels; it’s not her fault they were poorly written pieces of trash. With better writers, she could really shine, and Star Wars could finally have a new focal point. Ever since The Rise of Skywalker, the franchise has floundered with meandering TV shows, most of which have nothing to do with each other. Done right, the reappearance of Rey will give the writers a major arc (the New Jedi Order) to work with, allowing them to create something better (hopefully lots better) than The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Right now, though, all of this is just rumor and speculation. The return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey has not been officially confirmed, but fans are clinging to this idea because it gives them hope. As Rogue One so memorably reminded us, rebellions are built on hope, and it’s (ahem) a new hope that is making us optimistic for the future. If you’re more of a pessimist, though, and are questioning whether the return of Rey will backfire, I’ll match your cynicism with a question of my own: how much worse can Star Wars get?
Love it or hate it, this franchise has nowhere to go but up, and Ridley may be the only one who can get it there.