New Rey Movie Update Is Good News for Star Wars Fans

Daisy Ridley is having quite the year so far. Her new movie, Sometimes I Think About Dying, released in theaters earlier this month and is receiving positive notes. Her indie neo-noir movie Magpie is set to premiere at the SXSW film festival in March. The biopic Young Woman and the Sea, in which she stars as Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel, was originally slated for a Disney+ release may instead get a bump up to theatrical. Oh, and she’s filming a new action-thriller called Cleaner directed by 007 franchise legend Martin Campbell.

In between all that, Ridley is also of course answering plenty of questions about her upcoming return to Star Wars. The actor recently teased that her solo movie, which is set 15 years after the Sequel Trilogy and will follow Rey as she works to build a new Jedi Order, is taking things in a “different direction” than past installments. Now, she’s hyping up Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s plans for the film in a new interview with Variety.

“Her idea for the story is cool as shit,” Ridley told the trade. “No spoilers, but she gave me a rundown of the entire story. If it weren’t amazing, I would have been like, ‘OK, call me in five years.’ But it’s worthwhile.”

Ridley’s seal of approval will certainly be welcome news for Sequel Trilogy fans looking forward to seeing more of the character on screen, but this time as a more experienced, wiser Jedi Knight. Penning the script is Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who replaced Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson last year.

Unfortunately, the Star Wars star can’t share much more about the film when asked whether we might see John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, or Adam Driver back as well, telling Variety, “I don’t know what is what or who is who [in the new movie].”

Meanwhile, Ridley told Inverse she expects filming on her new Star Wars movie to kick off “sometime in the near future, although no release date has been officially set on Disney’s upcoming slate. Ridley did confirm she’ll first star in an indie thriller called We Bury the Dead before stepping back into the galaxy far, far away. In other words, there’s a little while to wait yet for the Rey movie. That said, another Star Wars film, the recently announced The Mandalorian & Grogu, will begin shooting this year.

Reflecting back on what it was like seeing herself in The Force Awakens for the first time before the movie released in theaters, Ridley told Inverse, “Honestly, the first time I watched myself on screen, I literally thought I ruined Star Wars.”

But almost a decade since her debut in the galaxy far, far away, she’s a bit more at peace with her involvement in the franchise.

“I feel like a grown-up now,” she told Variety. “When I first started, I was, like, 20. I was the youngest on set. It took me the first two Star Wars films to feel worthy of being there. Now I’m in my 30s. The whole thing feels quite different. I’ve been able to work with other filmmakers, and hopefully, I’ve got better as a performer.”

Check out the confirmed schedule of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV series here.