Pa Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Given that The Mandalorian and Grog ended up being a critical and commercial dud, it’s hard for Star Wars fans to get excited about any future films. However, Lucasfilm is trying to give us something new Star Wars: The Star Destroyera film whose official plot was largely kept under wraps. Unofficially, however, we’ve been getting tidbits about what to expect from the upcoming film starring Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth. A recent alleged leak revealed more about the plot of this film and its colorful characters.
According to the leak, Gosling plays a character named Cade who is tasked with escorting Flynn Gray’s character to a planet called Adaria, which has a Jedi temple that serves as a haven for these persecuted space wizards. This goes along with other rumors that the younger character is a Force user who needs somewhere safe to develop his powers. Now, many Star Wars fans are convinced that one of the franchise’s most hated characters will be waiting on this planet: Rey Daisy Ridley!
Lose the squadron, save the rogue
There are many interesting details about Star Wars: The Star Destroyerincluding confirmed details (like a Tom Cruise-directed lightsaber fight scene) and tantalizing rumors (like Mia Goth playing some type of evil power user). But with the latest leaks from Bespin’s newsletterfans are mostly buzzing about this new Jedi planet, Adaria. Apparently the planet is inspired by East Asia, with a very green and brown color palette. The planet is obviously teeming with Padawan trainees, all of whom walk around in the beige tunics we last saw the kids in in the prequels.
Based on this new leak, many Star Wars fans are convinced that our heroes will find Rey Daisy Ridley on this planet, probably at the very end of the movie. why so? On the one hand, Disney keeps making plans to get this character back and then sink them. Damon Lindelof was developing a film focusing on an older Rey played by Helen Mirren, but that film was cancelled. More recently, there were plans for Ray to headline a The New Jedi Order movie that could feature John Baegi’s Finn. While this movie isn’t officially canceled, there haven’t been any major updates in years.
Somehow Rey came back
The latest rumor is that Disney is going all-in on this idea and making Rey and the next generation Jedi is the main focus for several Star Wars projects. If this is true, then Rei would be the most logical person to teach these young Padawans on the planet Adaria. For now Star Destroyer directed by Sean Levy (the same man who brought us Deadpool and Wolverine) has long claimed that it will be a standalone film, it’s more like a prelude to a new era in the franchise. Rey Ridley will appear at the end, setting the stage for her appearances in future films and TV shows.
While there are fans who really hate the character, Rey’s return makes a lot of sense. Ridley gave a great performance in the sequels; it’s not her fault they were poorly written trash. With better writers, she could really shine, and Star Wars would finally have a new focus. Since that time The Rise of Skywalkerthe franchise has been thrashing around with meandering TV shows, most of which have nothing to do with each other. Done right, Rey’s reappearance would give the writers a major arc (the New Jedi Order) to work with, allowing them to create something better (hopefully a lot better) than The Mandalorian and Grog.
However, all this is just rumors and speculations. The return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey has not been officially confirmed, but fans are clinging to the idea as it gives them hope. How Outcast alone so memorably reminded us, rebellions are built on hope, and this (ahem) new hope makes us optimistic about the future. But if you’re more of a pessimist and question whether Rey’s return will backfire, I’ll temper 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 might be the only one who can get it there.