Credit: LucasfilmDaisy Ridley signed back aboard the Star Wars franchise based on an “idea,” according to the Rey Skywalker star.
In a way, it is actually hard to blame Daisy Ridley for having some faith in Lucasfilm. After all, the British actor was virtually unknown when she was cast in The Force Awakens (2015), the kickoff film in the newly Disney-owned Star Wars franchise.
Much like how Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford were relative newcomers to Hollywood when George Lucas cast them in A New Hope (1977), Ridley, John Beyoga, and (to a lesser extent) Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver all saw their profile raised to an absurd level by the series.
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Daisy Ridley emerged as the central figure of the Star Wars sequel trilogy over the years, facing off against Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) himself in The Last Jedi (2017) and Emperor Palpatine/grandpa (Ian McDiarmid) in The Rise of Skywalker (2019). It is no surprise that, now that Disney is finally ready to bring the franchise back to theaters, she would be the one to get a new sequel.
All that said, it is a little shocking that Ridley would sign onto a project of the magnitude of a Star Wars film with basically almost no idea what it would entail. But that appears to be the case! At the recent Deauville American Film Festival, where she won the New Hollywood Award, Daisy Ridley revealed to Premiere that she had rejoined Lucasfilm based on a mere idea.
She told Premiere, “I was simply asked if I wanted to do it, based on an idea, without the script being written yet. But if I hadn’t been convinced by the concept, the film wouldn’t have seen the light of day.”
The new Star Wars film does not yet have an official title, but it is widely being dubbed New Jedi Order, based on reports that the plot will focus on Rey attempting to form a new school of Force Users. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct the film, which has apparently been hitting some roadblocks in development, as Lucasfilm is said to be unhappy with multiple versions of the screenplay.
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Daisy Ridley continued, explaining that she did take some time but that she put a remarkably small amount of consideration into re-upping for one of cinema’s biggest blockbuster franchises.
She said, “I took the time to think about it for a day, and I said to myself that I had a great time on these films. This new adventure seemed fun to me, why say no? Also, there was a strange coincidence: two people told me in the same week that they would love to know what Rey was doing now.”
Lucasfilm and Disney might be struggling with the new movie, but it sounds like their star, at least, is pretty confident about things.
What other characters do you want to see return for New Jedi Order?