Star Wars Sequel Trilogy star Daisy Ridley has said her next film will take the beloved sci-fi franchise in a different direction.
Speaking to AlloCiné, Ridley teased a little more about her new film, which is directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and tells the story of Rey Skywalker as she tries to rebuild the Jedi Order 15 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker.
“Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do,” Ridley said of her casting. “I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world. It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction.”
What this means remains to be seen, of course, but Obaid-Chinoy will be the first woman to direct a Star Wars film. The Oscar-winning film maker recently said “it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.”
Little else is known about the sequel, though Ridley said in November 2023 it’s a “really cool” film that isn’t at all what she expected. “I haven’t read anything, but I know the story,” she said at the time. “It’s really worth telling, worth exploring, and I think people will be excited.”
Though the film was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 on April 7, Ridley said she hadn’t even been approached about the role as of February 2023. The rapid turnaround between the initial conversation with Lucasfilm and her appearance at the event had her feeling very nervous, Ridley said: “I was s***ting myself.”
This comes despite Kennedy claiming at Star Wars Celebration 2023 that Obaid-Chinoy’s film, plus the movies from Filoni and Mangold, were “pretty far along in development.”
None of the several upcoming Star Wars films have premiere dates at the moment, though Disney has listed three on its release schedule. The long-awaited 2025 Star Wars film, which is set to be the first silver screen premiere since 2019, was pushed to May 22, 2026, while the remaining two will premiere December 18, 2026 and December 17, 2027.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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