'Star Wars' Star Daisy Ridley Blacklisted By Hollywood?!

Instagram | daisyridley

Although getting the star role in the “Star Wars” franchise sounds like a dream come true for any actress, it sounds like Daisy Ridley might be regretting that decision, revealing that she had trouble finding work after the release of the last film. 

The London-born actress, 28, starred in the latest collection of Star Wars films as the Force-wielding protagonist, Rey. Although she was a relative unknown with few acting credits, J.J. Abrams took a chance to make her the star of the newest trilogy. 

Although the first three Star Wars films quickly became a pop culture phenomenon, the last three films, known collectively as the Star Wars sequel trilogy, were not well-received by critics or fans alike. 

Daisy Ridley shared how difficult it was to be part of something “that is so filled with love and then people [don't like it],” noticing how the fan reaction had changed from the announcement of the trilogy to its lackluster conclusion. 

“January was not that nice,” Ridley noted. “It was weird, I felt like all of this love that we'd sort of been shown the first time around, I was like, 'Where's the love gone?'”

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ridley explained that she couldn't manage to land any roles following the release of the last film in December 2019. 

“At the beginning of the year, nothing was coming through,” she revealed. “I was like, 'Aww! No one wants to employ me.” 

She continued, “There were actually loads of things that I auditioned for at the beginning of the year and didn't get any of them.” 

Although she is back on Instagram now, at one point, Daisy Ridley found the fan backlash too much to take. After she spoke out against gun violence following the 2016 Teen Choice Awards, she received so much hate that she removed herself from the platform altogether. 

Ridley is not the only Star Wars actress to remove herself from social media following fan backlash. After the debut of the second installment of the trilogy, relatively unknown actress Kelly Marie Tran stepped forward as the first lead female character of color in the series. 

Unfortunately, her character was not well-received by fans. She left social media after a series of hurtful and racist comments, including from alt-right activists who thought that the inclusion of her ethnicity was a sign that Star Wars was becoming too “politically correct.” 

Although the pandemic is leaving many actors out of work, it seems that Ridley managed to snag a gig or two after all. 

In early March, Ridley got a call about “Twelve Minutes,” a video game soon to be available on Xbox and PC in late 2020. She voices a woman who is stuck in a time loop with her husband, voiced by “X-Men”'s James McAvoy, as he relives the same 12 minutes over and over again to try to stop her murder. 

It may not be Star Wars, but at least it's something!