Summary
- Daisy Ridley is “very excited” about Rey Skywalker’s Star Wars film.
- Rey’s solo film may also develop into its own trilogy, but Ridley only knows the story for one film, at the time of this writing.
- The upcoming film is set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, with Rey attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order and facing questions about the state of the galaxy.
Rey Skywalker will return! The last time fans saw Daisy Ridley’s Force-using hero was at the conclusion of Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker. And it was there on Tatooine that Rey buries Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Leia Organa’s (Carrie Fisher) iconic lightsabers. Lucasfilm announced back in April that three new Star Wars films are on the way, and one of them will feature the return of Rey Skywalker. And Ridley is “very excited” about the movie. Ridley spoke with Collider’s Steve Weintraub at the Sundance Film Festival about her upcoming Star Wars adventure. And Ridley said in the exclusive interview with Collider:
“I will tell you, Steve, when I saw you in Park City, 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 sh—ing myself before I went on stage, because no one knew I was going to that.
No one knew I was going to [Star Wars] 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. 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.”
Ridley also addressed the possibility that Rey’s solo film might develop into its own trilogy. Rey was the main character in all three of the movies encompassing J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars sequel trilogy. Ridley also told Collider:
“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.”
Rey Skywalker and a New Jedi Order
Before the madness of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike, the 2023 Star Wars Celebration was where the news dropped back in April that Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker was going to lead one of the new films in that galaxy far, far away. Rey’s Star Wars adventure is set 15 years in the future, and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said in an interview with IGN:
“Well, we’re 15 years out from ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ She’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books… based on what she promised Luke. So, that’s where we’re going.”
Certainly, there’s excitement among Star Wars fans when it comes to who might show up in the film alongside Rey. After the way the fandom reacted to the deaged appearance of Mark Hamill as young Luke Skywalker in the season two finale of The Mandalorian, having the Jedi Master show up as a Force ghost would be amazing. But Kennedy isn’t promising anything of the sort. Kennedy said in the same interview:
I don’t know if we’ll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or [on] Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant.
Rey Skywalker’s untitled film will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, while the script will be penned by screenwriter Steven Knight. At the time of this writing, a projected release date for the new Star Wars film has not been announced.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
