Daisy Ridley Advises Future Women Of Star Wars To Tune Out The Stuff In A Crazy World

Being a woman can be tough sometimes, but being a woman in the "Star Wars" franchise can be really tough. In an interview with Variety at their Sundance Film Festival studio, "Star Wars" sequel star Daisy Ridley shared some advice for the next generation of fierce femmes stepping into roles in a galaxy far, far away. Ridley has plenty of experience dealing with both sides of the Force and the fanbase, as she starred in the trilogy that began with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015 and was the target of serious vitriol for her character Rey's role in the sequel, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." By the time the third film, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" hit theaters, Ridley was pretty good at handling fan fury. 

There are two pretty huge "Star Wars" series coming to Disney+, so Ridley's advice couldn't come at a better time. "Ahsoka," starring Rosario Dawson in the titular role, playing the character once more after donning her lekku on "The Mandalorian." Joining her in the "Star Wars" television world is "The Hunger Games" star Amandla Stenberg, who will headline "The Acolyte," about a Jedi acolyte during the era of the High Republic. 

"Star Wars" has always featured strong women in various roles, but the fan reaction hasn't always been kind to them, sadly. Hopefully, "The Acolyte" and "Ahsoka" both end up being fan favorites, so these talented ladies can enjoy their time at the top of the "Star Wars" world. 

When asked what advice she would give to women entering the "Star Wars" fandom arena, Ridley didn't mince words:

"The world is a crazy place. It's important to tune out the stuff. Not just with 'Star Wars,' but with everything, you try and be in the moment and enjoy what it is because life moves quickly."

That's honestly pretty great advice for anyone who has a career in the public eye. There is a tremendous amount of noise out there as people assess your every action, especially when you're a part of as big of a pop culture property as "Star Wars." Sadly, the advice is especially applicable within the fandom itself, which has been truly heinous to members of the sequel trilogy's cast, focusing the worst of their ire on Kelly Marie Tran, who portrayed Rose Tico in "The Last Jedi." 

The hatred tends to be directed toward women, especially women of color. The stars of new "Star Wars" shows shouldn't have to publicly denounce a section of the fandom's racist attacks, but that's exactly what happened last year with "Obi-Wan Kenobi" when actor Moses Ingram was harassed on social media and her co-stars had to tell people to cut it out. Do these people not realize that they're behaving like the Sith in this situation?

Both Dawson and Stenberg have plenty of experience handling frustrated fandoms and potential backlash, though Stenberg might practically have a Ph.D. in dealing with online hate at this point, as they received plenty of it for their very first big movie role, as Rue in "The Hunger Games." (Stenberg is non-binary and prefers they/them or she/her pronouns.) Ridley doesn't seem to have any worries about whether or not Stenberg can take on the trolls, however, telling Vanity Fair that the young actor is truly capable:

"Amandla Stenberg can handle herself. She's been working for a long time. I sat next to someone at the 'Wakanda Forever' premiere, an executive, and they said ['The Acolyte'] is amazing."

We haven't seen much from "The Acolyte" yet, but the cast is incredible and I can't wait to see how the "Star Wars" TV universe approaches the High Republic era, so this is very good news indeed. Neither "Ahsoka" nor "The Acolyte" have premiere dates yet, but they will likely be premiering sometime later this year. Here's hoping the Force is strong with the show's stars because there are a lot of nerds who seem to enjoy working for the Dark Side.