The great surprise of Disney's new Star Wars trilogy is that a female warrior is at its center. Her name is Rey, as you probably already know, and she was brought to life vividly by Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That role launched the British actress to stardom, and no matter what else she goes on to do in her career, she will always be the most associated with this character. Reminding us how effortlessly Ridley embodies Rey is a brand-new animated short from Lucasfilm called Sands of Jakku, which sees her reprising her role as the Jedi-in-training.
The clip is a prologue of sorts to The Force Awakens and follows Rey and her loyal droid BB-8 as they stroll across the desert landscape of the planet Jakku. A so-called Nightwatcher worm emerges and tries to devour poor BB-8, which forces Rey to use her budding powers to save her friend. The end of the movie hints at Rey being the unifying force that could bring lasting peace to the universe.
Sands of Jakku is the first in a new week-long series of shorts called Forces of Destiny, which aims to highlight the women of the Star Wars universe. They're being narrated by that other highlight of The Force Awakens, Maz Kanata, wonderfully voiced by none other than Lupita Nyong’o. Check it out above, and get excited for the IRL return of Rey and Maz when Star Wars: The Last Jedi returns on December 14.
