The 'Star Wars' actress addressed her surprising remarks while speaking with ET at a junket for 'The Last Jedi.'
Daisy Ridley wants people to know that her remarks about leaving Star Wars behind after Episode IX have been wildly misunderstood.
ET's Carly Steel caught up with the actress at a junket promoting the beloved sci-fi franchise's epic eighth installment, The Last Jedi, over the weekend, and Ridley did her best to clarify her earlier, attention-grabbing comments to Rolling Stone, in which she seemed to indicate that she wouldn't be doing any more installments after the completion of the third trilogy, planned for 2019.
"That was end of a very long day, at the end of a very long shoot. It was pouring down rain in Montreal," Ridley recalled, explaining the circumstances that lead to her comments. "We were talking about where the trilogy was going and… all I said was as far as I was concerned, when I signed on, I was signing onto [episodes] seven, eight and nine."
While speaking with Rolling Stone last week, the 25-year-old English actress -- who stars as the tough, resilient Jedi warrior Rey in the beloved sci-fi series -- said, "I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films. So in my head, it’s three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out."
When asked specifically if she'll be returning in the future -- similar to how Mark Hamill returned to reprise his role as Luke Skywalker -- Ridley said at the time, "Who knows? I honestly feel like the world may end in the next 30 years, so, if in 30 years we are not living underground in a series of interconnected cells … then sure. Maybe."
While speaking with ET, Ridley clarified that response, explaining, "I don't know about any plans beyond [Episode IX]. That's for Disney, that's for everyone else in charge to decide."
"The trilogies represent a beginning, middle and an end," she added. "But I don't know beyond that."
While working on the forthcoming Last Jedi, Ridley got an opportunity to work with Carrie Fisher in her final role, playing Princess Leia Organa, before her unexpected death in December 2016.
Reflecting on her favorite memories of working with the beloved screen star, Ridley said she really enjoyed the fun times they shared on set, singing together and laughing between scenes.
"The first time around there was a behind-the-scenes release where me and her were dancing between takes. I think, hopefully, the documentary -- because they are making it about the making of this film -- captured us singing in between takes. It was probably that," Ridley reflected. "It was the sense of this joy that she brought to set that I was able to be part of."
As for the upcoming, hotly anticipated installment in the trilogy, Ridley says the film -- and Rey's journey -- pick up "right where we left" at the end of The Force Awakens.
"What's great is that the audience is with her the whole way," Ridley said of Rey. "They're seeing her journey as she's experiencing it. There's nothing the audience is missing."
"She has questions about the world," she continued. "Sort of weirdly simple questions that everyone always talks about, like, 'What is the force?' Things that don't actually have a solid answer--there's a wonderful innocence in the way she's asking things."
Fans will get to see Rey continue her journey toward becoming a fierce, force-wielding warrior when Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters Dec. 15.
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