Ten years after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Daisy Ridley has looked back on Rey’s legacy. It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since the sequel trilogy began, launching a whole new Star Wars era. Daisy Ridley’s Rey was positioned as the Luke Skywalker of this bold new era, and she’s destined to lead a New Jedi Order.

Speaking to Den of Geek, Ridley has addressed Rey’s legacy.

“[Rey] is a part of a beautiful whole, and being part of that is wonderful. The character is beautiful and has resonated with people and continues to. I also think of the Star Wars world as [this] feeling of the people who make the films and enjoy the films, it feels like such a togetherness. That’s what I feel the legacy is.”

Rey has been controversial alone, but Ridley is right that there’s so much more to the character than anything seen on the internet. That became clear two years ago, when Ridley’s return was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2013.

Rey Will Always Be A Vital Part Of The Star Wars Story

The Skywalker Saga Is The Heart Of Star Wars

Daisy Ridley is right. Rey stands alongside Anakin and Luke as one of the foremost heroes of the Skywalker saga. Lucasfilm always planned Rey to be their new Skywalker, redefining what it meant to take on that role. The book The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker describes a Lucasfilm Story Group meeting in which Pablo Hidalgo described that role:

“I like the idea that she’s going to be our Skywalker, but she’s not a Skywalker. Then, for our purposes, ‘the Skywalker’ is really a metaphor. It doesn’t have to be something that’s directly connected to blood.”

This is Rey’s legacy; she allows anyone to become a Skywalker, simply by virtue of their choices – their decision to stand for light and life. I’ll never forget Star Wars Celebration in 2023, when I saw how many people were in cosplay as Rey. It underlined how much more popular she is than the online discourse.

Our Take On Rey’s Legacy

Lucasfilm seem to understand now just how important Rey is. Recent reports have claimed the studio consider Rey their most important cinematic ᴀsset, which – oddly enough – is why Rey’s New Jedi Order movie is taking so long to develop. The character is too important, too significant, and there’s a fear that rushing things will result in missteps and mistakes.

A decade after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey’s legacy is more important than ever – especially now the character is rebuilding the Jedi. The character has already redefined what it means to be a Skywalker, and this is now an opportunity to redefine the Jedi as well. It will be so exciting to see what the future has in store for Rey.