Daisy Ridley was seemingly set for a rise to superstardom following her appearance in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but was surprised to find that not many roles were offered in the years after.
Speaking during an appearance at a panel during the ongoing SXSW festival in Austin, Texas (via Variety), Ridley revealed that, after 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, she had very little in the way of new acting roles offered to her.
“There weren’t that many offers coming in,” Ridley said. “It’s not that there wasn’t any… I remember finishing and thinking, ‘Oh, it’s quiet and strange.’”
Ridley has found steady work since Star Wars despite surprise
While some of the lack of opportunity comes due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down large portions of the industry in 2020-21, Ridley says she has managed to still find work, albeit in other types of films.
“So it was a very strange time to sit with the quiet and, honestly, grieving a time of my life,” said Ridley of the COVID-19 pandemic, before noting that since then she’s been really busy and amazing and I’ve got to do so many different things for so many different people…It has been a different exploration of myself and my career.”
Now, Ridley is set to return to the world of Star Wars after five years away in a new film that’s set to follow her character Rey. The movie will be set in the aftermath of The Rise of Skywalker and reportedly follow Rey trying to rebuild the Jedi Order. That film will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and written by Steven Knight.
