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Daisy Ridley Uses Jedi Mind Tricks on a Wolf; Speculates on Rey’s Parentage

Sony Pictures Classics and The Cinema Society host a screening of
Photo: D Dipasupil/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Star Wars actor Daisy Ridley executive produces and narrates the new documentary The Eagle Huntress, a film about a 13-year-old girl who becomes Mongolia’s first female eagle hunter. And apparently, Ridley herself has a way with animals, too. At last night’s screening, hosted by Sony Pictures Classics and the Cinema Society, Ridley told us about the time she was face-to-face with a wolf. “Fun story,” Ridley told Vulture. “I went on a moonlit hike with wolves on Sunday at a wolf sanctuary outside of L.A. We were walking with Willow, she is the very sedate one, and I went to say, ‘Hi.’ You had to be super-careful. She put her face in my face, and it was amazing. So I would like to say that animals respond well to me. Wolf whisperer — that sounds like that could be my name.”

Ridley just completed filming on Star Wars VIII, but in the meantime, she is looking forward to Rogue One, which stars Felicity Jones as the new character, Jyn. “I am just excited to see how it is, because I have heard it is so so different, and its own thing,” Ridely said. “I have no idea what happens – I know the ending, but I have no idea really what happens in it.”

In terms of her own character’s place in the Star Wars expanded universe, Ridley hasn’t been following the fan theories closely, but knows that many people are speculating about her character Rey’s lineage. When Vulture asked Ridley if Jyn was Rey’s mother, she didn’t seem to have considered the question, and worked the timeline out for herself on the spot — suggesting this is not the case, but leaving the possibility open. “I mean, I think historically it wouldn’t work, because she is … Darth Vader is there …  so she would ultimately be my great-grandma; no, she would be my grandma,” Ridley said. “I mean it could happen, especially in a galaxy far, far away.”
 
Another possibility is that Rey is related to Obi-Wan Kenobi. This theory is supported by her Kenobi-like costume, dexterity with Jedi mind tricks, and love of solitude. What does she think about that? “We will see in a year,” Ridley said. “Just sit tight on that question.”

Daisy Ridley, Jedi, Is Also a ‘Wolf Whisperer’