Although she was barely on screen for more than a few seconds, this little girl had a large impact on the story of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Meet the actress who played young Rey…
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Eight year-old Picayune, Mississippi native, Cailey Fleming is a newcomer to Hollywood. In fact, her very first role just so happened to be in the biggest movie of all time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And, while her time on screen was brief, it was most certainly impactful. Caily portrayed the very young Rey, as she was being left in the hands of junk dealer Unkar Plutt, screaming to a starship leaving Jakku’s atmosphere, “Come back!” This all occurred during Rey’s Force Vision after touching the Skywalker lightsaber in Maz Kanata’s castle.
Cailey’s local newspaper — Picayune Item — ran a story on the young actress, and got a couple of great quotes:
"“It was fun and we filmed at the headquarters on the roof. I wore war clothes and had makeup on my arms to make it look like I was in the desert. I met Daisy Ridley, who was really nice. The Director, J.J. Abrams was super nice and he sent me to Disneyland. Every time we did a scene he would yell “cut” and bring strawberries.”"
It sounds like young Cailey had quite the experience. Being able to meet the film’s star Daisy Ridley, and then being treated like a V.I.P. by director J.J. Abrams, must have made a huge impression on the budding actress.
With Rey’s backstory still not fully explained, it is possible that Cailey could be called back to film some more flashback scenes, in order to explain who dropped her off on Jakku, and where she was before that happened.
The main theory is that Rey is Luke Skywalker’s daughter and Kylo Ren’s cousin, and that she was saved by either her father or cousin, had her mind wiped, and dropped off on Jakku in order to keep her protected from Supreme Leader Snoke. Hopefully in May of 2017, when Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters, we will get to learn more about Rey’s past.