Daisy Ridley teases with porgs, Kylo Ren, more
As Star Wars: The Last Jedi approaches, star whets our appetites with a few fun nuggets.
Daisy Ridley can’t escape her Star Wars fame, even as a mysterious murder suspect riding the opulent 1930’ s train in Murder on the Orient Express.
While filming Murder ( in theaters now), director Kenneth Branagh offered to let Ridley use a lightsaber in a key scene ( she declined), and costar Josh Gad peppered her with
StarWars questions off set on video,
even pulling in Judi Dench for one interrogation.
We, too, had a few queries as Ridley gets set to ride again as Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi ( opening Dec. 15). Here’s what we learned:
Ridley is so pro- porgs. ( Rey, not so much.)
The freeworld fell in love when the chubby porgs made a screaming debut in The Last Jedi trailer last month. It hit Ridley, too. She lists a porg toy as one of her prize possessions.
“It’s bringing a lot of pleasure right now,” says Ridley, calling the character “adorable” and “hilarious.”
The love affair started on set with the goofy looking puppet, operated by the same crew who handle droid BB- 8. “It’s wonderful to be working around practical things on set that have such personality,” Ridley says.
But Rey won’t fall for the creatures’ charms. “Rey, honestly, is too wrapped up in her own journey to pay attention to porgs. Which is a sad thing.”
Snoke will provide the worst kind of ‘ test’ for Rey.
Supreme Leader Snoke ( Andy Serkis) ain’t pretty and acts worse. “He looks mental. Snoke is an evil guy, if you can call him a guy,” Ridley says.
Last Jedi’s trailer shows Rey screaming under Snoke’s torture. Ridley says the torture scenes were long enough to leave her hoarse: “It was painful. My throat hurt after that one.”
“Snoke is one of those tests for Rey,” she adds. “And when I say testing, it’s theworst use of ‘ testing’ ever.”
Watch for Kylo Ren and Rey time.
Is there something special going on with Rey and Dark Side- dwelling Kylo Ren ( Adam Driver)? The two seem to have a connection in the trailers. Ridley chooses her words carefully. “These are two people who represent two very different sides of life, good and evil,” she says. “That’s going to be explored more in this.”
Luke is annoyed with Rey.
Rey is expecting Luke Skywalker to be thrilled to get his lightsaber back in
Last Jedi. But he’s not happy to see her. “She thinks there’s going to be a warm welcome. But Luke went to this island to get away and he doesn’t want to be disturbed,” Ridley says.
Don’t fret. Skywalker takes “a tremendous journey from the beginning of the relationship to ultimately where they end up in the film.”
Judi Dench really doesn’t know squat about Star Wars.
Dench seems to be a Star Wars nut, grilling Ridley in one of Gad’s videos on fan minutiae such as whether she had been tested for midi- chlorians, living cells in tune with the Force ( from Episode I — The Phantom Menace).
She played the part well, but Dench doesn’t have Force fever.
“She was like, ‘ Medi ... midi- chlorians, what is that?’ Josh and I had to explain,” says Ridley, who adds she and Gad had to stifle their laughs when cameras rolled.
Dench did ask Ridley to shoot a personal Star Wars video for her grandson.