Daisy Ridley Opens Up About Her ‘Star Wars’ Return, Says “The Story is Really Cool”
While she missed the chance to promote her latest feature, The Marsh King’s Daughter, in early October because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Daisy Ridley was able to do some interviews to advertise the film’s digital release (now available). And as it usually happens, she’s getting asked about Star Wars. The actress was confirmed at Star Wars Celebration London to be returning to a galaxy far, far away as Rey Skywalker in a new feature film by director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and writer Steven Knight.
Speaking to Collider, Ridley revealed the top-secret nature of the announcement of her return. As it had been previously mentioned, Ridley signed on to come back just a few weeks ahead of Celebration. In fact, there were only a handful of people in London who actually knew she was going to come out on stage, as she revealed:
“I will tell you, Steve, when I saw you in Park City [at the Sundance Film Festival, in January], I had not been approached. I was asked some, not by you, but I was asked something when I was there and strangely, people were asking me stuff and I was like, ‘No, I’m not doing another one.’ Then it all happened after I came back. It was such a nice reception.
I was shitting myself before I went on stage, because no one knew I was going to that. No one knew I was going to Celebration, bar like Kathy [Kennedy] and there were a couple of people. I was so nervous. Oh my God. It was such a wonderful reception.”
To add more context, the film that Steven Knight is currently scripting is a re-do from a previous draft that Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson had worked on. The duo turned in their work around February and were quickly shown the door, as Lucasfilm had changed plans. They wanted a new take on the story, one that would feature a younger Rey (rumors regarding the previous draft painted the character in her 80s training two future Jedi). That’s when Steven Knight came in and likely, Lucasfilm gave Daisy Ridley a call. Obaid-Chinoy was on board before and remained as the director despite the creative overhaul.
Despite that, the actress had previously been in communications with Lucasfilm, going as far as posting photos from the offices when she went for a lunch visit. So it may have been a surprise for her, but the studio was likely testing the waters months prior.
Not much is known about the story of the film, other than it will take place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker and it will see Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order. The actress has been told some details about it, and while she didn’t share any, she did say she’s very excited about it, and that it took her by surprise at first:
“I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.”
As far as what her return means for the future, Daisy Ridley stressed that she’s only seen the story breakdown for one film, but that doesn’t mean Lucasfilm isn’t planning further down the line. She said:
“I know the storyline for one film. That’s not to say that that’s all it is, but that’s what I was told about. And I imagine it will be the next film, I think. I mean, again, I don’t know, post strikes and everything, how quickly everything will start up again. But yes, so far, I know the story of one film and I think people will be very excited.”
No release date has been announced yet, but if this is indeed going to be the next feature film that Lucasfilm puts out in theaters, and the current schedule remains as is, the film would open on May 22, 2026. Knight should be submitting his draft within the next few days, if he hasn’t already, so if everything goes well, stay tuned for the whole machinery of film news to start with the new year!
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
