Daisy Ridley Praises Fan Campaign for ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’: “It’s Fantastic for Us All”
Daisy Ridley recently opened up about the fan campaign for The Hunt for Ben Solo, the Lucasfilm-approved follow-up to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was first revealed by Adam Driver in an interview with the Associated Press.
The project, directed by Steven Soderbergh, has fans going all out, even hiring planes to fly over the Walt Disney Studio lot in Burbank to show their support.
Speaking to reporters while promoting her upcoming zombie film We Bury the Dead, Ridley shared her reaction to the news about the Ben Solo movie. “I knew a piece of it. I heard rumblings,” she said.
“I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that. But, whoa! When the story came out, no, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was him that said it, right?” She laughed, adding, “It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year.”
Ridley also praised the fan enthusiasm surrounding the project. “I do love when there is a collective of positivity,” she said, referring to the online support for the film. “The way the internet seems to have rallied to try and get it to happen. I think one), it’s fantastic for us all.”
“It’s good for us to all be united about something in a really positive way. Obviously, everyone knows he was a very popular character, but it was also lovely to think, ‘Wow, people really, really care and want this.’ I just… I like it. I like when people join forces — excuse the pun — from all around the world, all different sorts of people.”
“I just love that the Star Wars fandom is such a huge and gorgeous array of different points of view and different people, and the fact that everyone is really behind this thing, I think, is just sort of lovely, in a time that is so f**** nuts for probably every single person on this Earth. I think it’s wonderful. So I was surprised, and honestly, I felt joyful about how it went down.”
When asked whether the fan excitement has made her push harder for her own Rey-focused Star Wars film, Ridley said she trusts the creative team and is confident it will be worth the wait.
“Honestly, there are scripts that I read five years ago, and now I’ve gone, ‘Oh, maybe they will actually happen,’” she explained. “I think over the years, I’ve learned how the reality of getting any film made is so massive. The hurdles are vast… But with this particularly, I know incredible voices and creatives are part of it, and I know the wait will be worth it.”
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