Rey's journey in the Star Wars universe cannot continue without Finn and Poe, according to Daisy Ridley. The three characters were introduced in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which served as both the first Disney Star Wars movie and the beginning of the sequel trilogy that continued two years later with The Last Jedi. This month's The Rise of Skywalker will bring their journey to a close on the big screen, with Force Awakens helmer J.J. Abrams once again directing.
But of course, the film is much more than that. In the summer of 2018, Lucasfilm confirmed The Rise of Skywalker will pull double-duty, acting as a finale to the Skywalker Saga (which encompasses every mainline Star Wars movie since 1977), in addition to serving as the final chapter in Rey, Finn, and Poe's hero narrative. The Star Wars films will go on hiatus until 2022 after that, even as the universe continues to expand with new TV shows, comic books, novels, and video games over the next three years. Just don't expect any of those to include Ridley as Rey.
Screen Rant spoke with Rey at The Rise of Skywalker press junket, asking her if she would be interested in reprising Rey in a future video game or Disney+ series. For her part, Ridley says she's content to leave the character after this new film, and feels her story couldn't carry on without Finn and Poe either.
I’m complete. I think the thing is… I also think we’re already apart of a video game because John [Boyega] plays it and apparently I’m a great character, but the beauty of this is John, and Oscar [Isaac], and Naomi [Ackie]. We’re all in it together, so one without the other to me, it doesn’t really compute because I’m like what would Rey be without Finn? What would Finn be without Po? That’s how I’ve always thought about it. So, no. I feel this is a beautiful ending in this way.
Ridley's comments are not only encouraging, they also make sense. The Rise of Skywalker is meant to bring the journey Rey started in The Force Awakens to a satisfying close, and the idea of Ridley returning to her role in the foreseeable future would only undermine that. Moreover, as Ridley pointed out, the character's story is closely tied to Finn and Poe's, and bringing back one without the other would be as bad as, say, if The Force Awakens had only brought back one of the original Star Wars trilogy's leads instead of all three (Luke, Leia, and Han). She's not the only one saying this, either; both Boyega and Isaac barely shot down the idea of reprising Finn and Poe in an upcoming Disney+ series while promoting The Rise of Skywalker.
Of course, there's an obvious way for Rey, Finn, and Poe to return down the line without their actors. The characters could easily show up in a future Star Wars novel or comic book, be they set before or after The Rise of Skywalker. Luke, Leia, and Han lived on for decades after Return of the Jedi hit theaters through the defunct Star Wars Expanded Universe (which has since been re-dubbed Star Wars Legends), and the sequel trilogy's leads could well follow suit. For the time being, though, here's to hoping Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker gives the new trio the sendoff they deserve on the big screen, whatever does (or doesn't) come next for them.
