I have not always been a fan of Star Wars. In fact, after being traumatized by the lava scene in Episode III: "Revenge of the Sith" when I was only 9 years old, I decided for the next 10 years that the series wasn't worth watching. Granted, I was kind of a sensitive kid. I was also afraid of cartoon characters that wore masks, but for whatever reason, something about watching a guy get his legs chopped off before bursting into flames disturbed me. I figured the rest of the movies must play out similarly and decided that I had no interest in putting myself through that kind of visual distress ever again, so I proceeded to avoid anything Star Wars related until Episode VII was released in late-2015. "The Force Awakens" I loved.
I admit, I'm a sucker for a few things when it comes to movies; strong female leads, witty dialogue, stunning visuals, and cute animals (or, in this case, droids). "The Force Awakens" had not just one, but all of these and I distinctly remember turning to my mom when I walked out of the theater and said, "I think I might like Star Wars now." I was shocked, 10 years of wanting nothing to do with the franchise and now all of a sudden I wanted to know more about it. My interest had certainly peaked.
This might come across like a typical "millennial feminist statement", but I really do believe that what sparked my interest in the Star Wars franchise as a whole was the addition of the character, Rey, played by Daisy Ridley. From her first appearance on the planet Jakku, I was a fan of her style and independence. She was so full of hope and optimism, also proving to be a skillful pilot and later a natural when it came to lightsaber fights. She was the kind of heroine that I had always wanted to see in a Star Wars movie, no offense to Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia or Natalie Portman's Padmé Amidala, but Rey fought scrappier. Her character is one with confidence, but also, as we discover in "The Last Jedi", fears and doubts about her own power and connection to the force.
She is a character that inherently wants to do good by others and restore balance to the galaxy but is unsure of how to. She is intelligent, funny, a total badass, all traits that I myself aspire to. Rey is the cinematic female Jedi that is attracting a new generation of girls and women (myself included), opening up the Star Wars universe to a new fanbase, not the somewhat exclusive "boys club" that the prequel movies suggested. Placing a young, female Jedi at the center of the new trilogy is what the Star Wars fandom, and maybe even the world, needs right now. To embrace a little bit of female energy in a world that's run by men.