Credit: Lucasfilm Star Wars star Daisy Ridley (Force Awakens) can basically pick whatever movie she wants to star in next. She is currently promoting her new film Chaos Walking which also stars the MCU’s Spider-Man, Tom Holland. Once again Marvel fans have started begging Ridley, who played Rey Skywalker in the Star Wars Sequel trilogy, to take on fan-favorite character Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman.
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In a recent interview with ComicBookMovie.com the Star Wars actress addressed the long-standing rumors concerning her possibly taking on Spider-Woman:
“Well, it’s funny because someone asked me off the cuff about the Spider-Woman rumours recently, and I went, ‘Oh, that sounds great.’ Apparently, I’ve now declared myself a front-runner to be Spider-Woman which isn’t true!”
Sorry, Marvel fans, it does not look like Marvel or Sony have made any push to cast Ridley as Spider-Woman anytime soon. Lots of media outlets have taken bits of this interview out of context to suggest that there might be the script for a Spider-Woman film in production somewhere, but she was actually talking about the script for Chaos Walking.
Spider-Woman is a much-beloved character from Marvel Comics, but has been stuck in studio limbo due to the complicated rights that involve both the MCU and Sony having rights to use the character — but, only Sony can use Jessica Drew in promotional materials, making it very difficult for the Marvel Universe to get a Spider-Woman movie off the ground. Though it was speculated that Spider-Woman could show up in the upcoming Secret Invasion as a Skrull, a major part of the comic it will be based off.
Sony may be secretly working on a Spider-Woman film starring Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy), per online rumors that began last fall. And, it was previously rumored that Marvel Studio’s boss Kevin Feige might be involved with it. Similar to how he clandestinely helped on Sony’s Venom (2018), possibly in an attempt to bring the characters to MCU proper at a later date. And Feige has mentioned he wants to include more female characters going forward.
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However, fans do not need to give up hope on seeing Ridley in a different MCU film. She recently heaped praise on Marvel’s first Disney + original series, WandaVision, in the same ComicBookMovie.com interview:
“Basically, should something come along and be great, of course I’d be open to anything. I just finished WandaVision. What they did with it is so amazing and different and interesting. To be particularly in that world, which is ever shifting and reimagining itself would be very exciting.”
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Who Could Daisy Ridley Play?
Now, the question is, if not Spider-Woman, then who in the MCU could the Star Wars star play? Fans took to the internet to do what they do best — wildly speculate. Beyond Spider-Woman, a name that popped up in multiple theories as a potential role for the young actress was Doreen Green, Squirrel Girl. Though many fans have also wished that Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) would take on the character.
Others have suggested Black Cat/Felicia Hardy, but much like Spider-Woman, Sony has the rights to this Spider-Man villain. It is rumored they are already developing a Black Cat and Silver Sable film that may or may not have been scrapped. It would be a shame to see someone fans associate with Jessica Drew in a different role.
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Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe can finally play in the X-Men sandbox, there is a whole list of mutants that Ridley would crush. ScreenRant suggested Psylocke, but it is highly doubtful that Disney would cast a white actress as an Asian character, like the version played by Olivia Munn in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
However, there is another version of Psylocke that Ridley could have been born to play. Betsy Braddock, the twin sister of Captain Britain, was also known as Lady Britain and Kwannon. There have been rumors for years that the MCU is developing a Black Knight film to feature its British cast of superheroes. The British actress could really shine as one of the most popular female British characters in Marvel Comics.
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Last, but not least, Ridley could portray Rikki Barnes, the female Winter Soldier. Rikki might not be the biggest name on the list, but adding the granddaughter of Bucky Barnes could be a way for Marvel Studios to build on the momentum of its latest success, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
All in all, Ridley would be welcomed into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with open arms. Though it is only a dream, for now, Disney is the studio that makes dreams come true.
Let us know in the comments below who you would love to see Daisy Ridley play in the MCU?